


Zach Stone Is Famous

by zach_stone



Category: Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Romance, Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 09:12:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4386155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zach_stone/pseuds/zach_stone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of the first season of Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, Zach's family and friends have to deal with the chaos that comes as Zach learns how to cope with being in the spotlight, having a girlfriend, and getting a job.</p><p>("What if there had been a season 2 of Zach Stone?" everyone asks. Well, I delivered.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Zach Stone Is Sexually Active

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month and a half after the events of Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, Zach and Amy are starting to deal with the consequences of Zach’s public declaration of love, all while their own relationship blossoms.

_A NEWSROOM – Located in a suburb in Boston. A reporter sits with two guests, Zach Stone and Amy Page. The reporter is speaking to the camera._

“...and finally, we're here to have a quick word with the couple that's charming America. Zach Stone made his first rise to fame here in this very news studio, when his declaration of love for now-girlfriend Amy won the hearts of viewers everywhere. Now, Zach and Amy are with us in the studio.” The reporter turns to Zach, and the camera pans to focus in on him. He glances at the camera, nods and waves, grinning. “Zach, tell us, how has your life changed since you were last in our newsroom?”

“Well,” Zach says, puffing out his chest and speaking directly to the camera, “obviously things have changed for the better, because I'm dating the best girl in the world.” He glances at Amy, who smiles slightly and looks down. “Things have just been so great, you know? Like, I was ready to give up all my pursuits of fame to be with Amy, but it turns out, being with Amy is what it took to bring me fame! And everyone's just been so supportive and excited.”

The reporter nods, smiles. “Amy, what about you? How do you feel about dating Zach?”

Amy looks up. She glances at the camera, looking nervous. Zach reaches for her hand and squeezes it. She looks at him, and he smiles at her. She finally smiles a genuine smile. “I'm just really, really happy. It's been great. Zach is...” she blushes. “He's great.”

Zach, who's been looking at the camera and making eyes for most of the interview, is now watching Amy attentively. He looks like he's never seen anything quite like her. He can't stop smiling.

“Well,” says the reporter, beaming, “I think it's safe to say that while you've been falling in love with each other, America has been falling in love with the two of you.”

“And there's gonna be a lot more for the Zamy fans to fall in love with,” Zach says, leaning forward. Amy looks vaguely confused, but says nothing.

“We all look forward to it,” the reporter says. “That was Zach Stone and Amy Page. We'll be back with the traffic report after this short break.” The camera cuts away, and Zach and Amy stand. “Thanks for coming in, you two,” the reporter says, shaking their hands. Zach and Amy nod, smile, give their mics back to the man standing by the cameraman.

As they leave, Zach laces his fingers with Amy and they walk to the parking lot. Amy is grateful to see that there are no hoards of “fans” outside the news studio this time.

“So,” she says, attempting nonchalance. “What's 'Zamy'?”

“You know,” Zach says, opening her car door for her and then getting into the car and starting the ignition. “It's our couple name. All the big celebrity couples have a name. Like—Brangelina, or, or Zefron!”

“Zefron isn't a couple name, that's just a nickname for Zac Efron,” Amy interjected.

“Whatever,” Zach says, waving the comment away as they drive down the street. “My point is, if we want to build our fanbase, we have to have a catchy couple name! And it was either Zamy or Aach, and I think you'll agree I picked the cuter one.”

“Yeah, you did,” Amy agrees with a slight sigh. “Zach?” she says hesitantly.

“Hmm?”

“Um...do we really need to build our fanbase? I mean, isn't our relationship supposed to be about, you know, us? Not fans?”

“It  _is_  about us,” Zach says, coming to a stop in his parents' driveway and turning to grasp Amy's hands. “It's always been about us. But we're in the spotlight now, you know? And that's like...a really big deal for me.”

“Zach, I know that,” Amy begins. “But--”

“I love you,” Zach says suddenly. “You know that, right?”

Amy stops, blushing slightly. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

“And you love me, right?” Zach attempts to sound casual, but there's a genuine quality to his question that makes Amy soften.

“You know I do,” she says.

“Yeah. I just like when you say it,” Zach says, bashful.

Amy leans forward to kiss him then, and when they break apart she presses her forehead against his and says quietly, “I love you.”

Zach's goofy grin when he kisses her again momentarily makes her forget about the fanbase and fame.

* * *

 

Every other weekend, Amy and Zach take turns visiting each other; one weekend, Zach will go up to see Amy in her dorm, and the next she'll come stay with him in his house. This weekend, she's staying with him, and it's late at night and they're on Zach's bed, kissing. It had started out with innocent enough cuddling and talking, but then Amy started trailing her fingertips along Zach's arm and things quickly turned into a makeout session, which usually happened.

Amy's straddling Zach, her hands on either side of his face and his hands on her waist as they kiss, and Zach can't help but buck up when Amy shifts slightly and brushes her thigh against his groin, where he's been hoping she won't notice his raging boner. The quiet groan slips past his lips before he can stop it, and Amy pulls away. Zach is bright red.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. Amy climbs off him and sits beside him. “I uh, I didn't mean to do that.”

“It's okay,” Amy says, a little breathless. “Need to cool off?”

“Yeah,” Zach says, exhaling slowly. He pauses, deliberates. There's something he's been thinking about a lot in the month and a half he and Amy have been dating. He doesn't know if it's the right time now, but it feels right, and what the hell, he's seizing the moment. “Or...we could, you know, keep going?” He looks at her, nervous.

“Keep...going?” Amy repeats. “Zach, that's a...that's a big step. Are you sure you want to--?”

Zach sits up and kisses her, a hard, messy kiss that's fueled by nerves and adrenaline and an erection. “Does that answer your question?” he says after, trying to sound sexy and not nervous as all hell.

Amy smiles slowly, nodding. She kisses him back, slow and languid, before pulling away again. He attempts to chase her lips, whining a little. “Do you have protection?” she asks quietly.

“Oh. Yes. Yes!” Zach excitedly scoots out from under her and reaches under his bed, pulling out a shoebox. He opens it, and Amy glances inside.

“Oh my God. That's...a  _lot_  of condoms, Zach.”

“Twenty dollars worth,” Zach says proudly. “My dad gave me money for condoms when I thought I was going to make a sex tape with Christy Ackerman, but that obviously fell through so I've just had all these condoms under my bed.”

“Wait, you were going to make a  _sex tape_? With her?” Amy says.

“I  _thought_  I was. But she just wanted to hook up, or something. Anyway, she like took off her shirt and kissed me or whatever, but it just didn't feel right. So I left.” He smiles at Amy. “It was for the best, really. I mean, now we can both be each other's first time and it'll be so much less intimidating and it'll be great, you know? Meant to be. So,” he looks down into the box. “Which one of these do you think is better, banana or mixed berry?”

“Um, Zach?” Amy looks suddenly very anxious.

Zach looks up. “What, do you not like fruit flavors? That's okay, I think I have some bacon ones in here.”

“What? Ew, no.” Amy takes a deep breath. “Zach, I'm not...this isn't my first time.”

Zach stares at her, bacon-flavored condoms forgotten. “Excuse me?  _You've_ had sex? With who?!”

“Zach...”

“Oh my God. Was it Nick? It was Nick, wasn't it? Jesus Christ, you had sex with  _Nick!?_ ” he flings himself dramatically backwards, flopping onto the bed.

“He was my boyfriend,” Amy says.

“But...you and him—he put his—in  _your—_ ugh,” Zach shudders, scowling. After a beat, he says, “Was it good?”

Amy pauses. “Yeah. Yeah, it was really nice.”

“God damn it,” Zach groans even louder. “This is the worst. My boner is totally gone now!”

Amy raises her eyebrows, glancing down at the obvious bulge in his pants. “You sure about that?”

Zach sits up, holding a pillow over his crotch defensively. “I meant my  _emotional_  boner, okay?” He shakes his head. “Okay, look, the fans can't find out about this. If anyone asks you about our sex life, you gotta lie and tell them I was your first time, okay?”

“Um, no, I don't,” Amy retorts. “Zach, why would anyone even ask me that?”

“Because the fans want to know, duh!”

“I'm not going to lie about my sex life.”

“Well then you have to tell them your first time was awful and your first time with me was a million times better.”

“No!” Amy scoots away from him. “Zach, you're being childish. I'm not going to lie just so you can feel better about you being a virgin when I'm not.”

Zach makes a scandalized noise. “That is so not what this is about! Zamy fans don't want--”

“Oh my God, I am not basing my sex life around what these 'fans' of yours want.”

“Look, whatever, let's just forget about this and go back to the laying-down kissing and the sex stuff.” Zach leans in to try to kiss her, but she pushes him back.

“There is no way I'm having sex with you right now,” she snaps. “You know what, I'm just going to sleep on the couch tonight.”

“What? No, Amy, don't go,” Zach says, watching her get up and grab a pillow from his bed. “Please, my bed is big enough for both of us, don't sleep on the couch.”

“I need some space,” she replies, sounding exhausted.

Zach hesitates. “You can sleep on the bed, okay? I'll take the couch.” Before she can protest, he grabs a pillow and a blanket from his bed and heads out the door, tramping downstairs and collapsing on the couch, limbs too long to fit really comfortably. “It's fine,” he mumbles to himself, pulling his blanket over his head. “It just wasn't the right time. Totally fine.”

* * *

 

Zach wakes up around 6:30 because his mom likes to get up early and make breakfast on the days when Amy spends the night. The woman adores Amy, and she doesn't try to hide how over the moon she is about Zach dating her. So, when she enters the living room and turns on the light to see Zach, in a crumpled heap on the couch with a blanket on his face, she's worried.

The light wakes Zach, and he groans, “Five more minutes,” before his mom pulls the blanket off him and he blinks blearily. “Ugh, mom, why?”

“Zach, why are you on the couch? Where's Amy?” she asks.

“Um...” Zach sits up, the night's events slowly coming back to him. His stomach sinks like a stone and he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Um. She's in the bedroom. Probably still asleep.”

“Did you two have a fight? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah everything's fine. I just, um, thought this would be more comfortable.” He attempts to stand and then yelps, his lower back ridiculously sore. “I'm fine!”

“Honey, you know you can talk to me,” his mom says. He pauses, looks around, and sighs.

“We had a fight...argument...thing last night. I don't want to go into the details but I think she's pretty mad at me. I, uh, think I just went a little overboard talking about famous stuff. Or something.” He stares at his feet. His mother puts a hand on his shoulder.

“You've gotta tone it down with all the fame talk, sweetie. I know you're excited, and we're all happy for you, really. But you can get a little...oblivious. You just have to find that balance.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” He sighs. They sit in silence for a moment.

Amy comes down the stairs, and Zach's mother stands up, giving Amy a smile.

“Good morning Mrs. Stone,” Amy says politely.

“Good morning, Amy.” His mom glances at Zach, who is determinedly picking at the loose threads in his blanket and gnawing at his lip. She looks back at Amy, says, “Well, I'm going to get breakfast going!” And leaves the two alone.

Amy sits down next to Zach gingerly, leaving space between them. Zach continues to fiddle with his blanket.

“Hey,” she says quietly.

He clears his throat. “Hey.”

A beat of silence. “Do you want to talk about last night?”

“What's to talk about?”

“Zach, don't be mean.”

“I'm not being mean. I'm just—last night was supposed to be this really...important moment for me, for us, or whatever. And it didn't happen.”

“Are you blaming me for that?”

He shakes his head. “No, no, it was my fault. Um,” he shifts, turning towards her. “Finding out that you've, you know, done it before...and with  _Nick_...” he shudders slightly. “I know you might not have noticed, but I'm a little, uh, threatened by Nick.”

“I had no idea,” Amy says, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

“Yeah, well, I've never had sex before and I,” he pauses, exhales slowly. “I feel like I'm not going to be very good at it, and you're going to compare me to Nick, and I'm never gonna measure up.”

“Zach...” Amy puts a hand on his knee. He inhales nervously. “First times are always awkward. I'm not going to judge you. I know you're nervous, but believe it or not, I'm nervous, too.”

Zach looks at her. “Why are  _you_  nervous?”

“Well, you probably have all these expectations of what it's going to be like and, well, I'm no Christy Ackerman.”

“Fuck Christy Ackerman,” Zach says. “And I don't mean, like  _fuck_ her, I mean like, screw her. Wait, no, that's still not what I mean.” He shakes his head. “I'm not going to compare you to her. She only liked me for the cameras. And she wasn't even a good kisser. She just, like, licked my face. It was weird. You're already way ahead of her.”

Amy smiles. “Hey, if you're not gonna compare me to Christy, I'm not gonna compare you to Nick, okay?”

“Okay.” Zach smiles, too. “So does this mean we're okay? You're not mad at me?”

“We're okay.” Amy leans in and kisses him gently, and he smiles against her mouth. Mrs. Stone pokes her head in the doorway, watches the two fondly, and then announces breakfast.

* * *

 

Amy goes home that morning, but they make plans for Zach to come up to her dorm the following weekend, and Amy tells him that her roommate is going away for the weekend so they'll have the room all to themselves. Zach feels a shivery heat in his gut when she says it, and there's an electricity in their goodbye kiss that's a promise of things to come.

As soon as Amy leaves, Zach calls up Greg.

“Hey, Zach, what's up?”

“Greg, I need your help,” Zach says, a little frantic.

“Dude, if this involves a camera or any kind of bodily harm, I am not available.”

“Greg please, that's so two months ago.” Zach drums his fingers on his thigh. “I just need your advice.”

“Okay, about what?”

“Can I come see you?”

“Yeah, sure, I'm just hanging around campus, I'll meet you in the student union or something. Remember how to get there?” Greg asks.

“Yeah. Cool. See you in a few.” Zach hangs up, grabs his keys, and heads to the car.

He spots Greg sitting under a shade tree outside the student union. “Hey man,” he says, dropping beside his friend.

“Hey. So what's going on?” Greg still seems a little wary, as if he expects Zach to whip out a few cameras and a costume.

“Amy and I are having sex next weekend and I'm freaking out,” Zach blurts.

“Oh my God,” Greg says. “That's a big step, man, congratulations!”

“Save the congrats until after we've done it,” Zach says. “What if I'm terrible in bed? What if she breaks up with me and goes back to Nick because he's better at sex? What if his dick is bigger than mine, oh my God.”

“Amy had sex with Nick?” Greg asks.

“Yes, Greg, try to keep up,” Zach huffs. “Anyway, that's not important. I need you to tell me how to have sex.”

“Zach, like I said, my first time wasn't exactly spectacular. I'm probably not your best bet for advice.”

“Come on, man, you're the only person I have,” Zach says. He looks sheepish. “Everyone in the universe has had sex but me, apparently. But you're the only one I feel comfortable talking to.”

Greg softens. “Okay, look, I'll tell you what I know. But first please just promise me you will not do any of the things you did to that weird sex doll when you do it with Amy.”

Zach snorts. “I promise.”

* * *

 

When Saturday rolls around, Zach is nothing but nervous. He tries to calm his jitters by listening to some music while he drives up to Amy's, but it's like every song on the radio is a little reminder of the night to come.

_“I wanna make love in this club—”_

_“When you talk dirty to me—”_

_“Pour some sugar on me, baby fire me up—”_

“Oh, my God,” Zach groans, turning the radio off aggressively. “Do people not know how to write songs about appropriate things? Like...partying and alcohol?” He shakes his head, anxiety bubbling up in him again. “Okay, Zach,” he says as he pulls into the parking lot near Amy's dorm. “You're about to go have sex with a beautiful girl. Your beautiful perfect girlfriend. Your girlfriend who has had sex before with a big muscley tough guy who probably has a tiny wiener because that would only be fair. Everything's fine.” He stares at himself in the rearview mirror. He looks a little pale.

When Amy opens the door to her dorm in a sundress, smiling that familiar smile, Zach can't help but stare dumbly. She stands up on tiptoe and kisses him, and color floods his face.

“Hey,” she says. “Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna come in?”

“Hey,” Zach says faintly, following her into her dorm. He's been here many times since the school year started, and it's all very familiar to him now, but it's like he's looking at everything with new eyes. Particularly the bed.  _I'm gonna have sex in that bed_ , he thinks. He glances at himself in the mirror on Amy's dresser and self-consciously rubs at his arm.

“Are you okay?” Amy asks, snapping him out of his reverie. “You're acting really weird.”

“Huh? Yeah, yeah I'm fine.” He sits down on her bed. She sits down next to him, watching him.

“Wanna listen to music?” she asks after a while.

“Sure.” She gets up to turn on Spotify on her laptop. “Just as long as it's not about sex,” Zach adds. She raises an eyebrow, but when she pushes play, gentle music starts to fill the room.

_“Baby I'm yours, and I'll be yours until the stars fall from the sky...”_

“This song always reminds me of high school prom or something,” Amy says, swaying a little. “Doesn't it sound like the kind of song everyone would slow dance to?” She holds out her hand, and Zach can't help himself smiling as he lets her pull him to his feet. She reaches up and locks her arms around his neck, and he places his hands at her waist, and they sway back and forth.

“Remember our senior prom?” Zach says. “Neither of us wanted to go, so we hung out at my house instead and watched that really scary movie and I made you hold my hand the whole time?”

Amy laughs. “Yes! It was  _The Blair Witch Project_ , right?” She smiles at him. “I bet you were secretly happy to have an excuse to hold my hand.”

He blushes, looks down. “Yeah.”

The song comes to an end, and Amy kisses him. A new song starts, but neither of them are really paying attention anymore. They stumble to Amy's bed and Zach's heart is racing when he mumbles against Amy's mouth, “Remember not to judge me too harshly.”

“Zach,” Amy says, breathless as she tugs her dress over her head. “I promise there is nothing but high praise for you in my mind right now.”

Zach Stone's first time is not a wild spectacle. It's actually extremely tame, gentle, slow. He finds that instinct helps more than he expected, and coming with someone is a hell of a lot better than coming by himself, he discovers. He keeps the advice Greg gave him in mind, which was mostly “try not to blow it two minutes in, and I mean literally blow it,” and he thinks he does a decent job at making it last. Greg wasn't wrong when he said it would be awkward, though. Zach is lanky and fumbly and all arms and legs and hasn't had enough experience with the female anatomy to know what he's doing down there without a lot of help from Amy, but they figure it out.

After, when they're both sweaty and spent and laying on Amy's bed, her head on his chest, Zach has one thought that won't stop running around his head. He strokes Amy's hair.

“Hey, Amy?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you a question and you have to swear not to laugh?”

Amy smiles to herself. “Okay, I promise.”

“Is Nick's dick bigger than mine?”

“Zachary!” Amy laughs slightly in surprise. “Oh my God. I'm not answering that.”

“Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh,” Zach whines.

“I didn't think you were going to ask me about penis sizes,” Amy sputters. She's giggling, and even though Zach's attempting to pout, her laugh makes him smile in spite of himself. “Anyway, size doesn't matter.”

“Oh, right,” Zach rolls his eyes.

“I'm serious!” Amy shifts, leans down and kisses him. He hums, pacified. Then, she whispers against his lips, “But you're bigger.”

“Fuck  _yes_ ,” Zach hisses, literally fistpumping the air. Amy shakes her head, regarding him fondly. It's times like these Zach wishes he had his camera crew still, just so he could look directly at the camera as some badass music played in the background. He settles, instead, for kissing Amy.

It still feels pretty badass.  


	2. Zach Stone Is Employed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, Zach's parents are tired of him just sitting around and force him to job-hunt. He tries to use his new “celebrity status” to get hired.

_THE STONE HOUSEHOLD – Located in a suburb in Boston. Sidney and Andrew Stone are in the living room with their two sons, Andy and Zach. Sidney and Andrew look at each other. They need to speak to Zach._

“Zach?” says Mrs. Stone, setting down her book. Zach, who is busy typing away on his laptop, glances up.

“Huh?”

“Can your father and I talk to you?” she asks. Andy watches the scene from over the top of his iPad, enjoying any time that Zach is thrown under the bus.

“We're talking,” Zach says, looking confused.

“Zach, what are you doing right now?” his mother asks gently.

“Updating my fan blog,” Zach says seriously. “It's very demanding, I have some new selfies I need to post.”

“Honey, we know you're very excited about your popularity and everything, but...”

“We want you to get a job,” Mr. Stone interjects. “Might as well cut right to the chase,” he says to his wife.

“I  _have_  a job,” Zach says, as if it's obvious. “My job is being famous.”

Andy snorts. “Dude, you're not famous.”

“Excuse me Andy, do  _you_ have a viral video on YouTube and a fan blog? I don't think so.”

“Your blog has 20 followers,” Andy retorts, “and  _you_ started it. Just because your news story got a bunch of views on YouTube doesn't make you a celebrity.”

Zach makes a face at Andy, but he's hunching in on himself as his parents continue to speak.

“Listen, you're just sitting around the house all day, not doing anything,” Mr. Stone says. “Frankly, it's getting old. At least during the summer you were doing  _something_  with yourself, even if it was driving us all crazy.”

“Your friends are all in college or working,” his mother adds. “We're worried about you.”

“Well stop worrying, okay? I'm fine. I'm more than fine, I'm great! My dreams have been realized!” Zach waves his hands in the air as if gesturing to his apparent dreams and ambitions.

“Zach, you're not allowed to just sit here, taking up space and providing nothing for this family. For Christ's sake, you're an adult,” his father huffs.

“Celebrities don't work at grocery stores,” Zach says airily.

“Lazy 18-year-olds who want to keep living under their parents' roof do,” his father snaps.

Zach sighs and closes his laptop. “Okay, fine, whatever. I'll look for a job.”

“Thank you,” his mother says gently. “That's all we want.”

Andy is smirking, so Zach throws a couch pillow at him.

* * *

 

“...so now they're making me get a  _job_ , isn't that stupid?” Zach and Greg are walking down the street near Zach's neighborhood, passing by shops. Zach is supposed to be searching for potential employers, but so far all he's done is buy a large ice cream cone and then drop it on the ground by mistake.

Greg shrugs. “I don't know, man, is getting a job really the worst thing in the world?”

“Greg,” Zach whines. “I'm a celebrity. I shouldn't have to stoop to working  _customer service_.”

“Yeah, but...” Greg pauses. “I mean, you don't really do anything, man. Don't you get bored?”

Zach doesn't say anything. He squints in the window of a CVS. “I guess I should go in here and ask if they're hiring, right?” he says resignedly.

They enter the store, and Zach locates an employee. He puffs out his chest and leans against the shelves. “Hello there, sir.”

The man looks at him. “Uh, hi. Can I help you?”

“I'm Zach Stone. Former pre-celebrity. Now current-celebrity. Maybe you've seen me on the news?” He's met with a blank stare. “The viral video 'Man Declares Love On Live News'?” Again, nothing. Zach deflates. “Are you guys hiring?”

“I think so,” the man says warily. “Let me get my manager.”

As he walks away, Zach shakes his head. “Did you see that?” he asks Greg. “No recognition whatsoever. My rise to fame is at a critical stage right now. I can't believe my parents are making me jeopardize it to get a dead-end job.”

“I don't know, it could be fun,” Greg says, looking around. “I mean, you get an employee discount, right? You could buy so many boxes of Oreos here.”

The employee comes back with a manager. “Hi, how can I help you?” he says.

“Hi there. I'm Zach Stone.” Zach pauses for emphasis, waiting for recognition. After a moment, he says, “I am a rising celebrity and I would like to give  _you_ the opportunity to hire a famous person to your store.”

“What are you famous for?” the manager says.

“He's in a viral video,” Greg pipes up.

“Oh, I think I've seen you,” the manager nods to himself. “Yeah, yeah, are you the guy who sings that song about the fox?”

“What? No!” Zach shakes his head. “I look nothing like that guy! Have you never seen 'Man Declares Love On Live News'?”

“Nope, can't say I have. Sorry.” The manager hands Zach a form. “Look, we're not hiring at the moment, but feel free to fill out an application and we'll contact you as soon as we have any open positions.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Zach turns on his heel and exits the store, where he waits outside as Greg buys a package of Oreos.

“That didn't go too bad,” Greg says when he finally emerges.

“You think so? Because I thought it went pretty fucking awful. They thought I was the fox guy, man.” He sighs. “Well, I think that's enough job-hunting for one day.”

“We went into one store.”

“I dropped my ice cream and then was mistaken for a man in a fox outfit, Greg. I can only take so much.”

* * *

 

Zach's parents aren't happy with his half-assed attempt to find a job, so the next day he's out of the house again, attempting a more legitimate job-hunt. Greg's not with him this time, but Zach is somewhat glad about this. As much as he loves his best friend's company, he felt infinitely more embarrassed by his situation under Greg's gaze yesterday. And he can't get Greg's comment from the day before out of his head: “You don't really do anything. Don't you get bored?”

He's the last person to admit it, but Zach knows that his “rise to fame” isn't quite as big as he'd always dreamed. He's far from the top of the social ladder, and while his fan blog now has 23 followers, it still feels like failure to walk into the ice cream parlor and ask for an application.

“Hi, I'm Zach Stone. Celebrated viral video star. I'm interested in endorsing your store. By working here. Are you hiring?”

“Uh. No, we're not hiring right now.”

Not completely deterred, Zach visits the video store,  _Lights, Camera, Rentals_ , where Greg used to work.

“Hello! Zach Stone. Celebrity. Looking for a little, you know, side job, something to help me connect to the common people. Are you hiring?”

“Actually, we're...” the manager squints. “Hey, aren't you that guy who stole our standup cutout a few months ago?”

“....no I've never set foot here in my life, and I never will again, goodbye.”

Zach knows there's one place he could almost certainly get hired, but his pride is keeping him from setting foot in his former place of employment, Desanto's. However, he knows that if he keeps coming home without so much as an application, his parents are going to flip their shit. He pulls out his phone and dials Amy's number.

“Hey Zach,” she says when she picks up.

“Hey. Are you busy?”

“No, just doing some homework. It can wait, though. What's up?”

He runs a hand through his hair. “I'm just really hitting a wall with this whole finding a job thing.”

“Aw, I'm sorry. No one hiring?”

He laughs humorlessly. “Not really. And like, I don't even  _want_ to find a job. I'm supposed to be famous, you know? I shouldn't have to get a regular job.”

Amy hums. “Have you tried Desanto's? I'm sure Pat would hire you back in a heartbeat, he wanted to promote you last summer.”

Zach huffs. “I don't want to go back to the grocery store. And, to be honest...” he glances around, as if someone is listening. He's still used to cameras capturing his every word. “I think Pat just offered me that promotion because of the cameras. I wasn't very good at working at the grocery store. I'm not very good at like, working in general.”

“Oh, Zach,” Amy says, voice sympathetic. “You were great at the grocery store. I mean, I think your talents go further than just being a stellar grocery store employee, but you weren't bad.”

He smiles. “You being serious?”

“Of course.”

He feels a renewed sense of confidence. “Maybe I should go to Desanto's. Yeah, yeah. I'll go there right now.”

“You've got this.” Amy's got a smile in her voice. “Call me after, okay? I wanna know everything.”

“Obviously. Talk to you later. Thanks for, you know, everything.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Zach hangs up the phone, smiling to himself. When he reaches the front doors of Desanto's, he feels the doubt creeping back into his gut, but he pushes it down and walks inside. He spots Pat fairly quickly, as his former manager is wandering the aisles and straightening products on their shelves. He approaches him, exhaling slowly.

Zach clears his throat. “Hey, Pat.”

Pat turns, and looks surprised. “Zach Stone! What a surprise. I haven't seen you around lately! How's it going, Mr. Famous?”

Zach forces a smile. “Yeah, it's going great. So you've seen the video?”

“You kidding? I tell everyone I know that my former employee is practically a celebrity. I've watched that video at least ten times. I saw you on the news the other night, too!”

“No kidding?” Zach puffs out his chest a little, pride swelling up in him. He has to admit, after being met with completely unimpressed potential employers all day, Pat's over-enthusiasm is more than welcome. “Well, thanks Pat. Listen, I came here today because—”

He's cut off by the sound of footsteps, and a man in a suit approaches the two of them. “Excuse me, are you Zach Stone?” he says.

“Uh, yeah. Hi.” Zach shakes the man's proffered hand. “Can I help you?”

“My name is David Lorraine. I'm an executive at MTV, and I recently came across your viral video.”

Zach's eyes go wide. “You did? Oh my God, wow. Awesome.” He looks at Pat, and Pat is watching the conversation unfold with his typical impressed grin.

“I've been looking into you some more, and I found a fan blog dedicated to you and your girlfriend. I think this has the potential for something really marketable,” David continues.

“Yeah? Like what?” Zach asks eagerly.

“You did a little documentary thing this past summer, correct? Well, we'd like to sponsor a similar production, focusing on the relationship between you and your girlfriend. A little slice-of-life piece. It's a very popular genre these days. You've seen  _Jersey Shore, Keeping Up With The Kardashians_...”

Zach is practically shitting himself. “Oh my God yeah, they're like my idols. Oh my God.”

“We would provide you with a camera team, or pay for the rehiring of the team you had last summer, whichever you prefer. We'd film a few weeks at a time, get some episodes queued up, and then it'd air. What do you think about that?”

“I think fuck yes!” Zach practically shouts as soon as David has finished speaking. David chuckles.

“I thought you'd feel that way. So, your next step would be to take these release forms, have your girlfriend and family sign them, and be sure you sign one, too. This is your agreement to be filmed.” He hands Zach a stack of papers.

Zach pauses. “Hey, so is this, like, a paid thing? Like a job?”

David smiles indulgently. “Yes, Zach. This is a job. You'll be receiving a paycheck, as will your girlfriend. You'll be the stars, after all.” He pats Zach on the shoulder. “You fill out those forms, and get back to me when it's completed. We'll get the ball rolling then. Here's my card.” He hands Zach a business card.

“Yeah, definitely. Thank you. Thank you so much!” As David walks away, Zach turns to Pat, a look of ecstasy on his face. “Did that just happen? Am I dreaming right now?”

Pat chuckles. “Well look at you! That was quite a spectacle! I knew you were destined for greatness.” He pauses. “What did you want to tell me earlier, by the way?”

Zach feels a little guilty when he says, “Oh, nothing. It's not important. Listen, I gotta go fill out these forms and call Amy and tell her the good news!”

“All right, see you later, Mr. MTV!” Pat says, waving him away. Zach pulls out his phone and calls Amy.

“Hey! How'd it go with Desanto's?”

“Amy, you're not going to believe this.” He can barely contain his glee.

“What? Did Pat hire you on the spot?”

“Forget Desanto's. Guess who came up to me while I was at the store?!”

“...who?”

“A guy from MTV.  _The_ MTV.” Zach's impressed with his own ability to not blurt everything out right then and there.

“Oh my God! What did he want?”

“He wanted to offer me a deal for a TV show.”

“Zach! Are you serious? That's amazing!”

“I know right?!” Zach shouts. “He saw my viral video, he's looked into me and thinks our relationship is really watchable and marketable and he wants us to star in a documentary thing that would air on MTV!”

“Wait, it's about us?” Amy says.

“Yeah! We're gonna be like, the new Kardashians. This is the dream!” He spins in a circle. “I have a release form for you to fill out, I'll bring it up to you tomorrow, does that work?”

“Um,” Amy says. “Zach, I don't know if I want to really star in a TV thing. It was one thing when you were the one making it, but MTV...it's a lot of pressure.”

“It'll be the exact same thing as before,” Zach says. “We can just pretend the cameras aren't there! And, they said I could use my old crew, isn't that great? It'll be like old times.”

“They were nice,” Amy agrees. She pauses. “You really want this, huh?”

“Amy, this is my big break. And get this, it's paid! So I did find a job today after all,” he preens. “Please, this is my dream come true. If you do this with me, I'll be the happiest person in the whole world. Please.”

“...okay. Yeah. It could be fun, right?” Amy agrees. “You can come up tomorrow and we'll get those forms filled out.”

“You're the best! I love you! I gotta go tell my parents!” Zach says in a series of eager shouts. He hangs up and does a skip-and-hop in the air.

* * *

 

Zach bursts into the house shouting, “Mom, Dad, I'm gonna be famous!!”

“I thought you already were,” Andy says from the kitchen where he's working on homework.

“Did you find any job opportunities today, honey?” Mrs. Stone asks.

“Did I ever,” Zach says, grinning. “Where's Dad? I need to tell all of you at once.”

Mr. Stone enters the kitchen as well. “What's going on?”

“Zach has news for us, apparently,” Mrs. Stone says. “What is it, Zach?”

“I have a job,” Zach says proudly.

“No kidding!” Mr. Stone pats him on the back. “I knew you could find something. Good for you, bud.”

“Where are you working?” Mrs. Stone asks.

Zach pauses for dramatic effect. “Are you ready for this? Forget it, you'll never be ready so I'll just tell you: MTV.”

“ _The_ MTV? Like, the channel?” Andy asks incredulously.

“You heard me, little bro,” Zach says. “An executive talked to me today and offered me a TV show! About me and Amy! They're going to pay me! Why are you not freaking out!”

“You're serious?” Mr. Stone says. “You really got a TV deal?”

“Don't believe me? Take a look at this.” Zach hands his father the stack of release forms and the business card David Lorraine had given him earlier. Mr. and Mrs. Stone look them over, and then look at each other.

“And you didn't think I'd be famous,” Zach says loftily.

“Well...” Mrs. Stone hands Zach the papers back. “I guess we were wrong.” She smiles. “Honey, I'm very happy for you.”

“Yeah.” Mr. Stone looks surprised, but not upset. “You know, Zach, I didn't think you could do it, but you didn't give up. I'm impressed, I really am.”

“What are all those papers?” Andy asks.

“Oh, thanks for reminding me. I need you all to sign these release forms. Since you'll probably be in the show a lot, they'll be doing a lot of filming here, you know.” Zach hands each member of his family a form.

“Are you telling me the house is going to be full of cameras again?” Mr. Stone says.

“Yep!”

Zach's parents share another look, and then Mr. Stone pulls Mrs. Stone out into the hall. Zach can only partially hear what they're saying, but he catches, “invasion of privacy,” and “we never agreed to this,” and then “his dreams are important to him,” and finally, “as long as they don't film me coming out of the bathroom again.” His parents reenter the room. Zach and Andy, who've both been stock-still and straining to hear the conversation, quickly attempt to look casual.

“So?” Zach says nonchalantly.

“We'll sign the forms,” Mr. Stone says resignedly.

“Yes!” Zach shouts. “You're the best parents ever for supporting your son's dreams yet again!” He turns to look dramatically into the middle distance, as if he's looking into cameras already.

“Dear God,” Mr. Stone mutters, as Zach starts to hum a familiar tune.

“Zach Stone is gonna be famous, Zach Stone is gonna be famous...” 


	3. Zach Stone Is An Internet Sensation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, the cameras are back. Zach is running a “Zamy” fanblog on Tumblr, and makes up rumors to submit anonymously to get the blog more followers.

 

  _THE STONE HOUSEHOLD – Located in a suburb in Boston. Zach Stone and Amy Page are sitting on the front porch, along with two cameramen and a sound guy. Zach is speaking directly to one of the cameras._  


“Last summer when I started filming myself, did I think I would be back here, on this porch, with a beautiful girlfriend by my side?” He looks at Amy, who smiles. “I'm gonna be honest, my instincts did say yes.” Amy snorts and elbows him.

“I don't think that's true,” she teases.

“Hey, are you  _doubting_ my instincts?” he says, trying not to smile.

“I don't think you went into this fame thing with the intent of dating me,” she replies. Zach blushes slightly and hopes she doesn't notice.

“Well obviously,” he says nonchalantly. He glances at the cameras. “Okay, we're getting too off topic. Cut.” The camera is lowered. Zach smiles, looking around him. “I gotta say, it is so great having you guys back.” His crew murmurs their agreement. “This just feels so right, you know? I've got my cameras, my girlfriend,” he puts his arm around Amy and hugs her to his side. “Zach Stone is living the dream, you guys.”

“Aww,” Amy says, resting her head on Zach's shoulder. “Did you guys get that on camera?”

“No,” says one of the cameramen.

“Oh shit,” Zach says. He looks at Amy. “Do you think that would have been good on the show?”

“I don't know, I just thought it was cute,” Amy says.

“Fuck, we gotta recreate that moment. Here, get off me,” he says to Amy, nudging her. She sits up, a little disgruntled. “Okay, so, something about cameras, girlfriend, the dream, you put your head on my shoulder. Ready? Action!”

The cameras turn on again just in time to catch Amy giving them a slightly disappointed look.

* * *

 

Although the show is about Zach and Amy together, it was agreed during contract signing that the camera crew would stay with Zach, therefore giving him a slightly larger role. Zach is of course eager for the spotlight, but he had been genuine in his insistence that the show is both of theirs, equally. Amy had assured him that he's better suited for center stage; and anyway, she can't very well keep the cameramen in her dorm at Brown. The show is being decently promoted by MTV, with official photos being released on their website. Zach posts links to the photos on his fanblog, which he's now proud to say has 56 followers.

“And the number's going up every day. Take that, Andy,” he says over dinner one night. He looks at the camera to his left. “Andy deeply underestimated me. Classic jealous little brother. He's always been envious of my success.”

“Dude, what success? You're the one who's always mad that I have a bunch of trophies.”

“Cut, please,” Zach says, exasperated. He stares at Andy. “Bro. Seriously. Can you not? This is going on national television. Why are you trying to make me look bad?”

“You're trying to make  _me_ look bad,” Andy snaps. He looks pointedly at his mother.

“Zach, don't be mean to Andy on camera,” she says. “Let's all at least attempt to appear functional, all right?”

The brothers grumble their consent. After dinner, Zach and the camera crew head up to Zach's room to check on the fanblog. Zach clicks on his follower count and sighs.

“No new followers in the past three days. There's gotta be a way to get more people's interest...” he contemplates his screen, chin resting on his folded hands, when suddenly a red “1” appears by his blog inbox. “Ooh, a message from a fan! Film me,” he says over his shoulder, and the cameras take position. “So I just received my first message from a Zamy fan, let's see what it says.” He clicks his inbox. “It's from Anonymous... 'hey what's the point of this blog anyway, mtv's about to air another flop, why should we care...' Oh.” Zach frowns, glancing at the camera. “Hang on, gimme a minute.” The camera lowers slightly. Zach presses a fist against his mouth and exhales slowly. “This is just what I was saying, right? We're not keeping their interest. What do they want?” He runs a hand through his hair and reads the message again. “'Why should we care...' Shit! I got it. Close up on me.” He waits for the cameras to focus. “When people go to a fanblog, they're not just looking for attractive selfies, although I do have those in abundance.... They want stories, secrets, insider info. Fans  _thrive_  off of gossip, it's what keeps fanbases alive. If Amy and I want to keep our fans happy, the Zamy fanblog has got to turn into a gossip mill.” He turns away from the camera and makes a new post on his blog.

_Hey Zamy fans! While you're eagerly awaiting the upcoming MTV series, be sure to check in regularly for the latest Zach and Amy news and gossip! And if you have any to share, send it to the inbox!_

Zach hits “Publish” and nods, smiling in a self-satisfied way. “And now, we get the ball rolling.” He opens his own askbox and clicks “Anonymous.” Then, he types, “OMG I saw Zach and Amy today and I could totally tell they have an awesome sex life!!!!!1 so inspiring” and hits “send.” He opens the message in his inbox and publishes it, grinning at the camera. “Take  _that_ , anonymous,” he says.

* * *

 

The next day, Greg stops by to visit. He and Zach head up to Zach's bedroom, where he eagerly checks his blog again. He sees that his “anonymous” post from the night before has notes.

“Greg, check it out! My plan totally worked, people are talking about us.”

“What did you say?” Greg says, leaning over to read Zach's post. “Dude, you posted about your sex life? I thought Amy didn't want you guys talking about that publicly.”

Zach glances around. “Look, what Amy doesn't know won't hurt her. And besides, technically  _I_  didn't say anything, 'anonymous' said it. C'mon, let's look at the notes!” He clicks on the post.

One person has reblogged the post and added, “tbh that zach kid looks like a total virgin lmao.” Another person has reblogged it and said “probably has a tiny wiener too.”

Zach stares at the screen. Greg, who read the posts over Zach's shoulder, puts a hand gingerly on his arm. “Hey, man...”

“Cut,” Zach says shortly. The cameras are lowered. “What the  _fuck_. Can you believe this?” He gestures to the screen. “This shit is just like high school.” He lets out a short laugh. “Like, this is what I've been trying to escape, you know? I put up with it for years, and now I have a TV show on MTV, and I'm still getting the same crap.” He closes his laptop forcefully, kicking his desk.

“Man, don't listen to those guys,” Greg says. “They don't even know you, or Amy. When your show airs, you're gonna have so many fans.”

“You think so?” Zach says.

“Yeah, man.”

Zach smiles slightly. “Yeah. You're right, I'm being childish. Does Tanning Chatum respond to anonymous people on the internet saying that he looks like a potato head by kicking things and throwing a tantrum? No. I'll show you what he'd do.” Zach opens his computer, reblogs the post and types aggressively, “actually i've heard confirmation from reliable eye witnesses that zach is huge.” He hits reblog.

“I'm sure that's exactly what Channing Tatum would do,” Greg says flatly.

“Well it's not lying.” Zach gestures to the cameras, and they film him again. “Anonymous hate is the sign of true celebrity status,” he says. “After all, anonymous hate just comes from people being jealous, and if they're jealous then you must be doing something right.” He nods to himself, almost believing it. “Anyway, a confident person like me just brushes it off and is in no way deeply upset or questioning his own self-worth.”

“Solid recovery,” Greg murmurs.

“You know it,” Zach replies.

* * *

 

After a few weeks of footage has been collected, MTV puts together a sneak-peek promo video, a two-minute spotlight that airs during commercial breaks. The first time Zach sees the promo, he's on the couch in the living room, the camera crew attentively filming him channel-surfing. He stops for a moment when he thinks he sees his own face on the screen. Sure enough, it's a clip of him and Amy on a date at the ice cream parlor. He leaps off the couch and turns up the volume, shouting, “I'M ON TV!” and sitting a few inches from the screen, mesmerized.

The promo is short and sweet, cutting together clips that emphasize Zach and Amy's positive and loving relationship, as well as a few clips of Zach alone talking to the camera. Zach's cheeks hurt from grinning by the time it ends, and he turns to the cameras with wide eyes.

“That was. The best thing. That has ever happened. In like, the history of the world,” he says. “Mom!” he yells. “Mom, I was on TV! Amy and I were on TV!”

His mother pokes her head in the doorway. “What happened?”

“There was a commercial! For the show! On MTV!”

“Oh my God, honey, that's wonderful!” She enters the room fully, giving him a hug that he returns enthusiastically. “I hope you know that I really am proud of you, Zach,” she says when they break apart. Zach ducks his head.

“Thanks, mom.” He clears his throat. “I gotta tell Amy!”

His mother nods and continues to smile at him in a fond way that makes Zach feel both embarrassed and stupidly happy. He calls Amy.

“Hey, Zach, I'm about to go to class, can I call you back?” she says when she picks up.

“Amy we were on MTV!” he interjects.

“We were?” she says in surprise.

“Yes! The commercial aired! It was amazing!”

“Oh my God!” Amy says, half-laughing. “Holy shit, I can't believe it. This is for real.”

“I know!” Zach crows. “You looked beautiful, by the way.”

“Zach,” she says with a giggle. “Shit, I really do have to go to class, but I'm so excited about this! We'll talk more later! I love you.”

“Love you too,” Zach says, and he flops back onto the couch with a blissful grin. He glances at the camera. “That was your first glimpse, America. Zamy is about to rock your world.”

* * *

 

After the promo airs, there's a major spike in Zach's fanblog's popularity. The follower count rises to 200 in the course of two days, and it continues to climb. Although Zach is initially overjoyed at the success of the promo and the blog, he immediately panics when he realizes he has to do  _something_ to keep these new fans interested. He posts regular pictures of himself and Amy, but he worries that again, it's not enough. He's starting to wonder if another gossip post would help, but he's also worried about taking things too far and pissing Amy off if she ever found out. (Not that she will, Zach reassures himself—it's anonymous, there's no way she could trace it back to him.)

One weekend Amy is visiting Zach, and Mrs. Stone sends them out to pick up some groceries for dinner. Amy thinks she likely just wants Zach and the cameras out of the house for a few hours. And she has to admit, it's a lot less cramped to walk down the street with the camera crew than it is to sit in Zach's living room with them. After the majority positive response to the promo, Amy's also feeling less nervous with the camera on her.

When they're at the store, Zach immediately forgoes the list his mother gave them and wanders off to the snack aisle. Amy suspects he's avoiding Pat. She's in the produce section picking out tomatoes when a voice says, “Amy?”

She turns. It's Nick, her ex from the summer prior. She can't help but flush when she sees him. Things hadn't ended on the best terms with Nick, and they hadn't spoken much at all since the split. “Hi Nick,” she says, attempting to sound calm.

“Hi,” he says, surprise and awkwardness peppering his tone. “How's it going?”

“Oh, it's going good,” she says, nodding. “Um, how are you?”

“I'm all right, yeah.” He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, glancing around. He spots the camera nearby. “What are you doing in town?”

“Oh, I'm—” She's cut off by Zach's return, along with the other camera. He's looking at two bags of chips in his hands, and he hasn't noticed Nick yet.

“Okay, so which of these do you think we should get? They're like, mystery Doritos flavors and usually I'm not one to eat unlabeled products but I'm feeling like the red bag has to be good, right?” He looks up, stopping short when he sees who Amy is with. “Oh.”

Last time Zach encountered Nick, Nick chased him around the grocery store and kicked the shit out of him. Now, Zach's clenching his fingers around his chip bags, already mentally planning an escape route in case Nick charges at him.

“Hey, Zach,” Nick says shortly.

“Hi please don't hurt me,” Zach squeaks immediately. He clears his throat and speaks again in a much deeper voice. “I mean... hey, Nick.”

“So anyway,” Amy says pointedly, “Zach and I are just grocery shopping.”

“Do you guys live together now or something?” Nick asks.

“Oh, no no no,” Amy says quickly. “I'm just visiting from Brown. We're getting food for Zach's mom.”

Nick nods slowly. Zach steps a little closer to Amy, casually putting his arm around her. He sees Nick's jaw clench. “So we're gonna be on a TV show,” Zach says.

“Oh?” Nick raises his eyebrows.

“Yeah. It's on MTV. We have a promo. You should look it up. It's about our relationship,” he adds. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Huh.” Nick responds.

“It was really nice seeing you,” Amy says, desperate for the awkward tension in the air to end, especially because she's worried if Zach runs his mouth anymore, Nick's going to pitch a tomato at his head.

“Yeah,” Nick says, “it was good seeing you too, Amy.” He nods at her and walks away.

Zach lets out the breath he'd been holding. “What a douche,” he says.

“Stop it,” Amy says. “Be nice.”

“Amy, he chased me through a grocery store. He  _kicked_  me.”

“That's not why you don't like him, though,” Amy says.

“I don't like him because he's so...douchey.” Zach gives the cameras an “am I right?” look.

“He was just saying hello,” Amy says. She takes the bags of chips from him and puts them in the shopping basket. “Don't blow things out of proportion.”

Zach pouts a little as they head to the checkout, but then his eyes light up and he glances at the camera with a grin slowly forming on his face.

* * *

 

_Anonymous: OMG! I saw Amy talking to her EVIL EX at the grocery store yesterday!! he was definitely trying to steal her from Zach, but he totally scared the guy away. Zamy's still going strong!_

“Dude, I thought you weren't gonna do this anymore,” Greg says into the phone, reading over Zach's latest “anonymous tip.”

“I said I wasn't going to make up any stories,” Zach says. “And so far I haven't. Trust me, you weren't there, I saw right through Nick's intentions.”

“Amy told me about the whole thing, it sounds like it was just a really awkward conversation. I don't think he was trying to steal her from you,” Greg replies.

“C'mon, man, you know Amy's always been weirdly oblivious to how literally terrible Nick is,” Zach complains. “Anyway, the blog's gaining more followers by the day, and I have to do something to keep them coming for more. It's harmless!”

“All right,” Greg says, not convinced. “You should tell Amy that you're doing it, though.”

“No! Why would I?”

“Are you afraid she'd tell you to stop?”

“Pfft. No. Please. You're making a big deal out of nothing, Greg, I'm telling you.” Zach spins in his desk chair. “I gotta go, okay? Talk to you later.” When he's off the phone, he speaks to the cameras. “People love drama. And what's more dramatic than a love triangle? Everyone loves hearing the hot romantic gossip about celebrities, and I'm just delivering what they want. I'm super generous that way.” He nods. “Amy definitely wouldn't care.”

“Boss, don't you think it's betraying her trust?” says one of the cameramen. The other members of the crew nod.

Zach makes a “cut” gesture across his throat. “Are you being paid to add commentary? I don't think so. So can you, like, not?” The crew looks affronted. Zach feels guilty, but he assures himself that the top rung celebs don't put up with such things. He pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. “Look, I'm just doing what I have to do to be famous. I know you're trying to help, but I don't need it. Okay? I know what I'm doing.”

Still, Zach doesn't like the guilt weighing heavily on his chest. He texts Greg.

_ZACH: hey man, listen. you were right. i'm gonna lay off the rumor mill, at least for a while._

_GREG: smart move._

And for a few days, Zach really feels that it is a smart move. Then the footage from the past week is sent in and an altered promo is put up. This one puts on the love triangle spin, closing with Zach saying, “People love drama. And what's more dramatic than a love triangle?” Zach watches the promo on the MTV website at least a dozen times, gleeful. But nothing prepares him for the day that he checks on the blog to see his follower count has skyrocketed to 2,000.

_ZACH: DUDE. YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS._

_GREG: oh no_

_GREG: what is it_

_ZACH: NO “OH NO.” THIS IS AN “OH YES” SITUATION._

_GREG: why are you shouting_

_ZACH: the fanblog hit TWO THOUSAND followers in like, ONE NIGHT._

_ZACH: i'm telling you, dude, it was the gossip posts. i was right, the fans want the drama!!_

_GREG: what happened to laying off the rumor mill??_

_ZACH: that was before TWO THOUSAND FOLLOWERS please keep up._

_GREG: not liking this, zach..._

_ZACH: dude, i'm an internet sensation!_

_GREG: this is what concerns me._

_ZACH: rude. quit worrying! things are looking up, greg._


	4. Zach Stone Is A Big Fat Liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous, Amy is starting to get fed up with the cameras following her and Zach around everywhere. Meanwhile, Zach comes up with a rumor that’s sure to incite drama — but with unintended consequences.

_A DORM ROOM IN BROWN UNIVERSITY – Zach Stone and Amy Page, as well as a camera crew, are spending a Saturday afternoon in Amy's dorm room. Zach is talking animatedly about something stupid his brother said earlier that week, his head in Amy's lap._

“...and it was just, like, okay Andy, maybe if you didn't dress like Steve from Blue's Clues I would believe that you actually have a girlfriend,” Zach says. Amy strokes his hair.

“But didn't we meet his girlfriend?” she asks. She's trying to avoid looking into the cameras, because Zach's told her to act like the cameras aren't even there, but it's hard to pretend they're alone when the sound guy keeps clearing his throat every five minutes.

“I'm still not convinced,” Zach says. He looks up at her and smiles. “You look cute from this angle.”

“Stop it,” she says, giggling. “I bet you can see up my nose.”

“It's okay, your nose is cute,” he says.

“Even the inside?” she says, raising her eyebrows.

“Mmhm,” he says confidently, lifting his head to kiss her. When they break apart, Amy notices that one of the cameramen is slowly lowering himself to film them from below, so the camera is getting a similar view of up Amy's nose as Zach is. And while she doesn't doubt that Zach finds her cute from this angle, she's definitely not up for MTV's audience to see it. She tucks her hair behind her ear, shifts awkwardly, and turns away from the lens. Zach, who thinks she's turning away from him, sits up.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she says, noticing that the camera is no longer in that compromising position with relief.

“Okay, good.” Zach smiles, completely oblivious, and kisses her again. Amy wants to just lose herself in the moment like she used to, but she can't help but be hyper-aware of the three men literally attentively watching her make out with her boyfriend.

Zach pulls back. “Are you  _sure_ you're okay? Because if you're not okay, you should tell me.”

“I just...um, I have a lot of homework I need to do. I should really start it. I'm sorry.” She doesn't quite meet his eyes. She glances at the cameras, resenting them a little bit. Zach follows her gaze.

“All right...” he says. “Can we cuddle or something while you work, though?”

“Sure,” she says, softening. He opens his arms and she gladly settles herself against Zach's long, lanky frame as she opens her textbook.

* * *

 

“I don't know, man, it's weird,” Zach says to Greg one afternoon on the phone. “It's like, everything will be going fine and then all of a sudden she pulls back and closes off. And, we haven't had sex in like, weeks. Do you think she doesn't like me anymore?” There's an anxious quality to his voice.

“I'm sure she still likes you,” Greg says. “She loves you, right? Maybe she just gets nervous around the cameras.”

“Maybe,” Zach says. “But she was fine all summer! She kissed me on camera in the news studio!”

“Well, that was like, a heat of the moment thing,” Greg points out. “It does get a little awkward when your camera crew is just there breathing at you. Remember that one time we had a sleepover and they were just standing over us? I couldn't sleep until they went to bed, it was freaking me out.”

“Really? I find it comforting. It's like they're watching over me, like Edward in Twilight.”

“...well, as I recall Amy found Edward to be kind of creepy,” Greg says. “So she might feel the same way about the cameras.”

Zach hums in thought. “Yeah, she was always Team Jacob. Thanks, Greg.”

* * *

 

Zach and Amy are going out to dinner. This is something they don't do very frequently. Because they only see each other when one of them can come visit the other on the weekend, they prefer to spend the time together just hanging out, catching up, staying in. But every once in a while, when one of them has the hankering or the extra cash, they'll go out to eat. Zach planned this particular date in part because he thinks it will be nice and romantic (or at least as romantic as the local Olive Garden can be), but also because he's worried that the show will be too boring if all the footage is of them laying on Amy's bed talking or sitting in Zach's living room throwing popcorn into each other's mouths. Those are some of Zach's favorite moments with Amy, but he has to think of his future viewership.

“It's really sweet of you to take me out like this,” Amy says as they get in Zach's car. The camera crew piles in the backseat. “We haven't done this in a long time.”

“That's why I wanted to,” Zach says, starting the ignition. “We don't go out enough, you know? We don't do anything interesting.”

“Well, I always have fun,” Amy says. “I like just being with you, you know?”

“Yeah,” Zach says, smiling a little. “But I mean, we don't do anything that's interesting to watch. We should go to parties or clubs or something. Remember that time we went to the Punk Hole? We could do that again sometime!” He sounds excited at the prospect. Amy wonders if Zach has purposely blocked out the painful memory of being practically booed off stage and standing on a mixture of beer and broken glass the last time they subjected themselves to the Punk Hole.

“I don't think that place was really our scene, Zach,” she says slowly. “Let's just stick to Olive Garden, you know?”

“Okay, if you wanna be boring,” Zach says under his breath.

“I didn't realize you found me so boring all of a sudden,” Amy retorts.

“I never said that!” Zach snaps. “I just meant that we need to appeal more to the audience—”

“Oh, here we go,” Amy says. “Zach, don't you think we'll appeal more to the audience if we do things we actually enjoy?”

“We enjoy going out! Right?” Zach retorts. He pulls into a parking space at Olive Garden and turns off the car. They look at each other, silent and tense. One of the cameramen clears his throat awkwardly and makes a “hurry it up” motion with his finger.

Zach sighs. “Look, can we just pretend this fight didn't happen? Or put it on hold or something? And just eat dinner like two normal, happy celebrities.”

Amy raises her eyebrows. “All right, fine.”

It's one of the quietest meals the two of them have shared in quite some time.

* * *

 

A few days later, Zach's fears of being boring are confirmed in the form of an anonymous post on the fanblog. He's noticed the decline in interest the past few days as it is, and when he sees a message that reads “i don't get it, these two seem way too stable and boring to be starring in a show...what's edgy about them?? where's the drama?” it sends him over the edge.

“Aw, fuck,” he says to himself. He's frustrated, because he's been sensing some obvious tension between the two of them, but it's probably not the kind of “edgy” this anonymous messenger is talking about. He doesn't want to rock the boat much more, because he wants his and Amy's relationship to be happy and fun like it once was. He gnaws on his bottom lip, not sure what to do.

He and Amy have plans that evening, because Amy has some free time and wants to come down for the day and see him. They've talked on the phone and Skyped since their disappointing dinner date, and things seem much better now, but Zach still feels bad that he made Amy so upset. He buys her flowers and even picks out her favorite movie to watch, even though it's a scary movie that might give him nightmares.

When she shows up, he hands her the flowers and she blushes. “Oh, Zach! Thank you, they're lovely.”

“Just like you,” Zach says. He's been planning that line for two days, and he smiles, proud of himself.

Amy bats his chest and grins. “Shut up, how long did it take you to come up with that one?”

“Hey, that was right off the cuff. I'm very witty,” he says, kissing her.

The cameras close up on their faces as they break apart, foreheads touching. They're smiling at each other like there's no one else in the world, let alone the room. But the spell is broken soon enough, because the camera crew thinks they should recreate that kiss so they can get it from another angle. And while neither of them is complaining about kissing each other again, Zach can see that Amy's slightly put out by the crew dictating their actions on a date. He's struck with a sudden impulse.

“Hey, guys, I have an idea,” he says. “Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off? We got plenty of good footage this week, you deserve a break. Go see a movie or something.”

Amy's smile of gratitude and relief is enough to tell Zach he's done the right thing. When the crew's gone, he turns to her.

“So,” he says. “Now that they're gone...what do you wanna do?”

The two share a look of understanding before scrambling up the stairs to Zach's room and locking the door.

After they're both dressed and a lot less sex-deprived, they spend a little bit of time just laying on their backs on Zach's bed, talking about times past and laughing so hard their stomachs hurt. Then they go downstairs to watch the scary movie, and Zach shrieks comically loudly (but entirely genuinely — he really does not deal well with scary movies) and hides his face in Amy's shoulder half the time. She spends more time laughing at his reactions than watching the movie, but she doesn't mind at all.

“I'm not going to be able to sleep for a week,” Zach declares as the credits roll. “That ending...” he shudders.

“You had your eyes closed for the last five minutes!” Amy giggles. “I'm surprised you picked that movie of all things. I know how much it scares you.”

“Well, it's your favorite,” Zach says. Amy leans over and kisses him.

“This has been a really good day,” she says. “This is probably one of my favorite days ever, I think.”

Zach grins. “Really?”

“Yeah. Thank you for telling the camera crew to leave, by the way. I needed a break.”

“It was no problem,” Zach says. He's proud of himself, because he can tell he really made the right decision and Amy is really happy. He's not even very worried about the fact that they lost a whole day's worth of footage — he was telling the truth when he said they had plenty of footage for the week. And anyway, while he's having a wonderful day with Amy, it feels more special because it wasn't on film. That's something Zach hadn't expected.

When it's time for Amy to leave, she kisses his cheek and says, “I'm so happy I could come down today. I know things have been kind of strained lately, but today was really good.”

“Today was awesome,” Zach agrees. “I love you so much.”

They kiss, hug, and then Amy's out the door and headed back to her dorm. Zach watches her go with an ache in his chest, hating to see such a good day come to an end. Plus, with Amy out of the house to distract him, he can't stop thinking about that anonymous message calling them boring. The two of them were so happy today, but apparently the viewers don't want happy. They want drama and instability. Zach heads up to his room, staring at his computer screen. He was going to upload a picture he and Amy had taken today, but now he's wondering if that would only worsen the “boring” image. After a moment's guilty hesitation, he opens the ask box and clicks “anonymous.”

“ _YIKES! Trouble in paradise?? Word on the street is that Zach and Amy have been fighting all the time lately. Crazy loud dramatic shouting matches!! Talk about love on the rocks._ ”

Zach publishes the message and closes his laptop quickly, already wondering if that was the stupidest thing he could have done.

* * *

 

“Dude, that is  _the_ stupidest thing you could have done,” Greg says over the phone. He's just seen Zach's latest gossip post and is speaking in his best disapproving lecture tone.

“Hey,” Zach retorts lamely.

“I'm serious,” Greg says. “If Amy finds out about this, she'll be really mad. You can't keep making up lies like this, Zach, especially not something this big. You make it sound like you guys are about to break up! I thought things were going better for you two.”

“They are!” Zach says. “But that's the problem.”

“I am failing to see how that's a problem.”

“We were too boring!”

“Jesus Christ, Zach, do you hear yourself?” Greg sounds frustrated. “I hope you know this is going to come back to bite you in the ass.”

“Maybe it would if I had your negative attitude,” Zach says. “Greg, I'm an optimist. And so far, my optimism, however criticized it may be, has gotten me the girl of my dreams  _and_ a TV show deal with MTV. I'm not worried. Relax.”

“I just think you're pushing your luck,” Greg says.

“That's what I do best.”

* * *

 

Amy is writing a response online for one of her classes when her phone alerts her that she has a new text message. She glances at it, and sees it's a message from a girl she knew back in high school. They haven't talked much at all since graduation, aside from “happy birthday” posts on Facebook. She's surprised, therefore, to see the text “are things ok with you and your bf??”

She has absolutely no idea why this girl she barely knows would ask about her relationship with Zach, especially since this girl didn't ever interact with Zach as far as Amy can recall. She decides to just respond with “yeah everything's great, thanks!” and waits. The girl texts back, “ok...let me know if you wanna talk, im interested in the details!!” And that's when it hits her — this girl must have heard about the TV show. She's probably just digging for gossip. Amy pushes her phone away, irritated. Then it beeps again, this time with a Twitter alert. It says that she has 13 notifications. That's more than she ever has at one time, so she goes to Twitter on her computer, brow furrowed. People she's never spoken to before in her life are tweeting at her.

“did u break up with zach??”

“its ok girl u don't need a man ur too pretty”

“does this mean the show is canceled?? too bad, it looked cute.”

“hey are you the Amy from the MTV show? What happened 2 you and Zach??”

Amy's really confused now. How did these people find her Twitter? And what the  _hell_ is everyone talking about? Last time she was with Zach, everything was wonderful. She replies to one of the tweets.

“Hi, yes I'm the Amy from the show. Where did you hear that something happened w/ us?”

A few minutes pass, with Amy anxiously refreshing the page. A notification pops up.

“on the fanblog!!” it reads.

Amy hasn't been on the fanblog Zach created in a long time. She doesn't see the point in looking at it, since it's all just pictures he posts of himself and Amy, and she can see the exact same pictures on Facebook. But now, she's wondering if she should have been checking up on it more often, since clearly something's been happening on it besides selfies.

She checks the blog and scrolls through, surprised to see all the discussion and text posts relating to the show already. She sees a post that's received the most notes, which is the post Zach had made about their relationship being on the rocks. Of course, right now Amy has no idea who made the post, and she's frustrated that someone would make up a hurtful rumor like that. She keeps scrolling, and comes across another post. This one refers to the meeting with Nick that had happened the other day. It refers to Nick as her “evil ex,” and now Amy's starting to get suspicious about who exactly wrote these posts. She keeps going, and finally runs into the post about their “amazing sex life” in which Zach defended himself against hate by saying “confirmation from reliable eye witnesses that zach is huge.” There's a sinking feeling in her gut when she realizes that Zach is the one who started the rumor that things were going badly.

Coincidentally, Zach is coming to visit her today, and now she has no idea what she's going to say to him. Her plans to coerce him to kick the camera crew out for at least a little while so they can take advantage of the empty dorm room don't seem nearly as appealing now.

She hears a knock on the door. That's him. She stands, glancing back at the blog posts still open on her screen. She opens the door, and Zach is standing there in the doorway, camera crew behind him.

“Hi!” he says, chipper and oblivious.

“Hi. Can we talk for a minute? Without the cameras?” she adds pointedly.

Zach looks confused at this abruptness. “Um, okay. Take five, guys.” He enters the dorm room, alone, and raises his eyebrows. “What's going on?”

Amy gestures to her computer screen. “Do you wanna explain this, Zach?”

He squints at her screen, his stomach dropping like a stone when he realizes what it is. “Oh. Well. That's the fanblog I made, remember?”

“I know. I just looked through it. I saw those posts that had the rumors about us.” She crosses her arms and stares up at him. He rubs the back of his neck.

“Yeah, well, I just post whatever messages I get...”

“Zach, I know you made them,” she says.

“It says 'anonymous,' Amy, it could have been anyone!” he exclaims.

“But it  _was_  you.”

Zach splutters, trying to come up with an excuse. “I...well...it's not what it looks like,” he finishes lamely.

“Then what is it? Do you know, I got  _thirteen_  tweets from total strangers asking me if we'd broken up?”

“Really?” Zach says, momentarily impressed. He supposes that this does prove that his idea worked, even if it's currently backfiring and blowing up in his face. He shakes his head to clear it. “Look, I was only saying those things to keep fan interest. People were saying we're too boring, I was trying to add some intrigue.”

“Intrigue? Zach, you were  _lying_. You're using our relationship to get famous! Every time we're together, you're manipulating things to make it more 'interesting' for the show.”

“That's not true,” Zach interjects.

“Yes it is. You care more about impressing the fans than you actually care about the two of us. And these posts are proof!” she gestures to her computer.

“Amy, we both have an obligation to our fans now. We have the show, and there's certain footage that we have to create — ”

“Well,  _I_ never wanted to be famous. I just wanted to be with you,” she says, a little helplessly.

“I know,” he says. “But you knew what my goals were when we started dating. You knew I wanted this, that didn't just go away.”

“I didn't think this would actually happen,” she says. “And I  _definitely_ didn't think it'd happen  _because_  we started dating.”

Her words feel like a physical blow. “You didn't think I'd actually get famous?”

She feels guilty. “I always believed in you,” she says. “And I wanted you to get what you wanted, but...you don't act like yourself in front of the cameras. It's like you're playing a part every time we're together. What happened to you not 'needing' to be famous?”

“That's not fair,” he says.

“ _This_ isn't fair, Zach!” she says. “Not to me. Having cameras in my face every time I want to visit my boyfriend? Three guys watching me kiss you and then giving me constructive feedback?” She shakes her head. “And now you're lying to thousands of people, and you didn't even think to  _tell_  me first.”

Zach's at a loss for words. He sits on the edge of her bed. She sits next to him, and they listen to each other's uneven breathing.

“Maybe this isn't working anymore,” Amy says in a quiet, sad voice. Zach lifts his head, his chest tight.

“What?”

“Zach,” she says. “Long distance is hard enough as it is. Adding cameras and a reality show into the mix...it's too much. It's not healthy for either of us.”

“Amy...” Zach says hopelessly. “I...I can't just cancel the show. Not after everything I've gone through to get here.”

“I wouldn't ask you to do that,” she says. “I just don't think that I can be a part of it anymore.”

The reality of what she's saying shatters against him like blunt force trauma. His hand is gripping the bedframe, knuckle-white. “Oh.”

She looks at him, and waits until he meets her eyes. He's biting hard at the inside of his cheek. “I'm not saying this is it, forever. It's just...”

“Not the right time. Right. I get it.” Zach's voice is rough, and he looks down quickly.

Neither of them know what to say. Zach puts his face in his hands. Despite the fact that Amy's seen him vulnerable many a time over the years, it still fills him with embarrassment to shed a tear in front of her. She closes the distance between them, takes his hand. He looks at her and they embrace. He's always loved how she fits perfectly against him, just short enough and him just tall enough that he can rest his head on top of hers.

Over Amy's shoulder, he sees what looks like a camera lens pressed against the window of the dorm. He wonders if the crew got the whole thing on film. He hopes Amy doesn't notice them there.

Afterwards, they're not really sure what to do. Zach finally says he'll just head back home. He looks around Amy's dorm room, at the mirror where they took dumb pictures together, at the bed where so much had happened, at the desk where they'd fought over what music to play. He wonders when he'll be here next, and if it will feel like a ghost of this moment, this utter bullshit feeling of failure and loss and numbness, every time he steps foot in this room.  


	5. Zach Stone Is A Stud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When MTV executives find out about Zach and Amy’s breakup, the show is canceled. But, an unexpected person from Zach’s past might just be able to help him get it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to make yourself sad about Zach and Amy, listen to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXe5Xj91J4Q

  _DESANTO'S GROCERY STORE – Located in a suburb in Boston. Zach Stone is sitting on a bench outside the store, looking melancholy. There are no cameras surrounding him. He's alone._

Zach's taken to lurking around Desanto's as of late, because he knows Pat won't yell at him for loitering. The man still thinks his former employee is now a celebrity who is exempt from the rules of regular society. Zach knows he shouldn't take advantage of Pat this way, but he would rather be anywhere but in his house with his parents right now.

After he and Amy broke up, Zach had come home looking like a kicked puppy. His mother, who seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to her son's love life, knew immediately what had occurred and practically smothered him with comfort and sympathy. At first, he wallowed in it, letting her hug him and reassure him and eating the ice cream she bought him. But after a couple days, he started to get embarrassed by his own misery, so he decided to mope outside of the house so his mom could stop fueling his post-breakup pity party quite so much. (He did, however, continue to eat the ice cream.)

It's not just the loss of the girl of his dreams that Zach's mourning, however. As the distinct lack of cameras painfully reminds him, his budding career as a reality TV show star has been nipped in the bud. When the footage from the previous week was sent in to the studio, the through-the-window film of Zach and Amy's breakup was seen by the executives and Zach received a phone call from David Lorraine.

“Zach! This is David Lorraine, from MTV,” he'd said.

“Oh, hi Mr. Lorraine,” Zach said. He was still in the midst of his post-breakup haze, and was slouching on the couch while  _Titanic_ played on the television.

“How are you?” David asked.

“Um...not great,” Zach said.

“Listen, Zach, buddy...” David's tone was that of a friend delivering mildly bad news, not a career-crushing blow. “We reviewed the latest footage for the show...you and Amy broke up.”

“Yes, I'm painfully aware.”

“Buddy,” David said again. “The show's called  _Zach & Amy_. Can't really have a show if there's no Zach and Amy, can we?”

“What are you saying?” Zach said, sitting up straighter and gripping the phone.

“Show's canceled, Zach.” David had sounded sorry, but not nearly sorry enough.

So now, Zach's sitting outside Desanto's with no job, no girlfriend, and almost no self-respect after the way he's been letting his mother baby him.

He's considering going into the store to buy a soda or something, just to give himself something to do, when an overeager voice calls out to him.

“Oh my God, Zach Stone?”

Zach looks in the direction of the voice. A perky girl with long brown hair and a too-big smile plastered on her face is making her way towards him. He deflates. Christy Ackerman is exactly the last person he wants to see right now for a lot of reasons. For one thing, he's in ratty clothes and he barely brushed his hair this morning, and Christy looks like she just walked out of a Teen Vogue magazine or something. He presses on the top of his head, praying he can flatten his cowlick.

“Oh, hey, Christy,” he says, standing up and attempting to sound excited.

She tosses her hair and continues to beam manically at him. “Oh my God, it is  _so_ good to see you! It's been  _so_ long since we talked, how  _are_ you?” She glances around.

“Christy, there are no cameras, you can stop pretending to be excited to see me,” Zach says wearily.

“ _Zach_ , don't be silly!” Christy says, pushing him playfully. “I'm your friend, I want to know what's going on in your life!”

“Christy, I'm serious. My show got canceled, all right? There are no cameras.”

Christy's smile fades and she looks around. “All right, whatever, I'll just cut to the chase. I've been following your blog. I saw your most recent post.” Zach had posted a dreary announcement about the breakup and the show's cancelation after the phone call with David Lorraine.

“Oh,” Zach says, surprised but unsure what else to say. “Yeah. It sucks.”

“Totally.” Christy sits on the bench and pats the space next to her. “I was bummed to hear that your show got canceled.”

“Yeah, me too. The breakup wasn't great either,” Zach says pointedly, but she's already speaking over him.

“Look, you want to know why I came looking for you? I can help you.”

“Help me what?”

“Help you get your show back. And your little Abby friend.” She trails her fingers up his arm as she speaks, and he can't help the twist in the pit of his stomach when she does so. He doesn't  _like_ her, not at all after their last encounter, but she's gorgeous and he's attention-starved and vulnerable.

“Her name is Amy,” he says, gently removing her hand from his arm. “But please, continue.”

“Date me,” Christy says. She says it with such casual confidence. Zach stares dumbly at her.

“Um. What?”

“You should date me,” Christy says. “Don't you get it?”

“Not really.”

“Oh my God. If you date me, there's intrigue and drama. You said yourself, we're totally an edgy, watchable couple. You'd get your show back for sure.”

“Okay...” Zach says slowly. “I don't see how that would get Amy back, though.”

“It'll make her jealous,” Christy says. “And then she'll be throwing herself at your feet and begging you to take her back.”

He considers. “Are you sure that's what would happen? I don't think—”

“Zach. Look at me. How many relationships have I been in?”

“Uh, I don't know.”

“A lot. And how many have  _you_ been in?”

Zach flushes. “One.”

“Right. So I think we know which one of us is the expert here. I know what I'm talking about. I've done this to make guys jealous like, tons of times. It totally works.”

She stares at him expectantly, perfect eyebrows raised. He mulls it over. Christy is not the type of person he  _really_ wants to date, he's learned that the hard way already. But he's desperate — this could be a second chance at fame, and if it leads to Amy giving him another chance, he can't say no.

“Yeah, okay. Let's do it.”

Christy grins at him. “Zach Stone, people are going to think you're such a stud with  _me_ around.” She leans over to kiss him on the cheek, and he winces a little. It still feels wrong. “Okay, go call whoever you need to call to make this happen!” she says. “Come on, I want to start filming as soon as possible.”

Zach shimmies his phone out of his pocket and dials David Lorraine's number. After a lot of ringing, he finally picks up.

“Zach Stone! Buddy! How can I help you?”

“Hi, David. Listen, I think the show can go on after all,” Zach says.

“Zach, we've been through this. You two split. There's no show.”

Zach glances at Christy, who nods at him and waves her hands impatiently. “What if I told you that there's a new girl?”

“A new girl? Elaborate.”

“My, um, good friend Christy Ackerman and I are now a couple,” he says. The words sound bizarre on his tongue. “She's like, Amy's rival,” he adds, only half-lying. “And it would add drama to the show, and a love triangle thing, you know?”

“Hmm.” David Lorraine speaks to someone on his end, but it's muffled so Zach can't hear. “Zach,” he says after a minute or two. “We like this on our end. We like this a lot. We'll have to discuss a change of show title, of course, but we definitely like this. We'll send the camera crew back to your place tomorrow morning, okay? And we'll send down a release form for your new girlfriend.”

“Okay,” Zach says. When he hangs up, he can't help but grin. Zach Stone is back on the playing field.

* * *

 

When the camera crew knocks on the door of the Stone residence the next morning, Mr. Stone answers. His face falls when he sees who it is.

“What the hell?” he says. “I thought this was over! What are you doing here?”

“We're here to film Zach and Christy,” says one of the men. Another lifts a camera to close-in on Mr. Stone's face. He squints at them and then turns around.

“Zach!” Mr. Stone yells. His son comes barreling down the stairs, already dressed. He's wearing nice clothes for the first time in a week and a half, and his hair is brushed and styled.

“Hey guys, sorry for the holdup,” Zach says to the crew. “Hey Dad,” he adds.

“Zach, what is this?” his father says.

“Show's back on, Daddio.” Zach grins, pulls a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket, and puts them on. “I'd love to stay and celebrate, but I've got a date. See you on the flip-flop, pops!” He practically prances out the door, the camera crew following. Mr. Stone stares after them, shaking his head. Mrs. Stone comes up behind him.

“What are the cameras doing back here?” she asks him.

“Your son just informed me the show is back on,” he replies. “Sidney, is Christy that girl Zach went on a date with last summer?”

“You mean the date where you gave him 20 dollars for condoms instead of an actual sex talk?” she replies pointedly. He looks sheepish. “Yes, I believe that was her name. Why?”

“One of the cameramen said they were filming her and Zach together.” He raises his eyebrows. “So much for him being heartbroken, huh?”

Mrs. Stone frowns, watching Zach's car turn the corner and out of sight.

* * *

 

Being with Christy is a totally different experience from being with Amy. Amy shied away from the cameras and focused on Zach most of the time, often positioning herself so she was blocked from the camera's view. Christy, on the other hand, can hardly look away from the camera. She's constantly tossing her hair, smiling, winking, and generally flirting with the lens. Zach sits next to her in a booth at a restaurant, picking at his food and watching her with a kind of uncomfortable fascination.

“So!” he says loudly, dropping his fork with a clatter. Christy looks at him, startled and irritated. “We're here on a lovely second-first date. Remember our first-first date?” He looks at the camera. “Christy and I go way back.”

“Totally,” Christy says, smiling at the camera. She grabs his hand and he scrunches his nose.

“So, uh, Christy, I was thinking we should go out again tomorrow night,” he says. “You know, since it's Friday night. Maybe we could go see a movie or like, go bowling?”

“Ugh,  _boring_ ,” Christy says, dragging out the second word. “Let's go to a club or something! I know this  _great_ one by my house.”

“Totally,” Zach says with considerably less enthusiasm. The idea of going to a club with Amy had been appealing, because they could stick together and be awkward as a unit. With Christy, Zach can only imagine that it will end with him watching her grind up on everyone while he stands in the corner bobbing his head and drinking a shirley temple in lieu of a cocktail.

“Let's go to the park and make out,” Christy says.

They pay for their food and then Christy basically drags Zach to the park. Zach takes a few minutes to pick out a tree with the perfect amount of dappled lighting through the leaves, and then they sit down and Christy kisses him.

It's just as bizarre as Zach remembers it being, half-assedly attempting to chase her lips as she maintains eye contact with the cameras and sucks on Zach's face. He thinks wistfully of Amy and sort of pets Christy's hair for something to do.

When their date is over, Zach drives Christy home. “So, tomorrow night?” he asks her.

“Mmhm, we'll go to that club, okay?” she says, wiggling her fingers at the cameras. “Bye boys.”

When she leaves the car, Zach takes a moment to stare at his steering wheel and regroup. He turns to speak into the cameras. “Being with Christy is a totally different experience from being with Amy.” He's impressed with his ability to say her name without his voice shaking. “Christy is a party girl. I think it will be a whole new viewing experience for the fans. And I know you may be thinking, 'but Zach, Amy was your one true love, you're lost without her, how can you even think about dating someone else?' And, to that I say, well...” he looks down, breathes out, and says, “Um, I'm working on it.”

* * *

 

When Zach gets home, he gets a text from Christy. It's a picture she'd taken of the two of them earlier that day. The right half of Zach's face is in frame, looking a little disgruntled as Christy takes over most of the frame, making a kissy face. “ _post this on ur blog!!!!_ ” the text reads. He uploads the photo and captions it, “What's this? You heard right, fans: Zach Stone is back, and with a hot new girl on his arm!! Keep tuning in for more updates, the show is back on schedule!”

About a half an hour later, Zach gets a phone call. It's Greg. Zach puts the phone on speaker.

“Hey, man, what's up?” he says.

“What the hell, Zach?” Greg practically shouts.

Zach winces and holds the phone away from him. “Jesus, Greg, what's the matter?”

“You're dating  _Christy Ackerman_?!” Greg says. “Again I ask, what the hell?”

“Greg, you don't understand,” Zach says.

“Did you even think for a second how this is going to make Amy feel?” Greg says.

Zach imagines her seeing the photo he posted. It's like a punch in the gut. “It's going to make her jealous, and then she'll want me back,” Zach explains. “That's what Christy said.”

“I can't believe you're taking advice from Christy Ackerman.”

“It got me the show back, didn't it?” Zach retorts. “Come on, Greg, my career was on the line, what was I supposed to—”

“I get it, Zach. You wanted your show back, I understand. But don't pretend you did this for any other reason.”

It's as if Greg has slapped him. “What the fuck, man?”

“You're doing that thing again, where you get all self-obsessed and act like a dick,” Greg says, frustrated. “You know we never talk about  _anything_ except for you lately? You never ask me how I'm doing, how college is going, nothing! It's always 'look at my latest blog post,' 'why is Amy mad at me,' 'how do I get more fans.' Did you know I have a girlfriend?”

Zach's caught off guard. “What?”

“Yeah,” Greg huffs. “I wanted to tell you, but I barely get a word in when we talk.” He exhales slowly into the phone. Greg rarely gets this worked up. “Look, Zach, you're still my best friend, but I'm on Amy's side with all this. Dating Christy was a dick move, and you're kidding yourself if you think it's going to make things any better between you and Amy.”

Zach says nothing at first. “Best friends are supposed to be on each other's side,” he mumbles.

“I don't think you want a best friend,” Greg says. “I think you want an empty vessel you can talk at. You want an audience, right? That's why you have your cameras. Talk to them.”

“Thanks a lot,” Zach snaps, and hangs up the phone. He throws it across the room and presses the heels of his hands against his eyes. The cameras film him, silent observers. Zach looks up at them. “Cut, please, did you film all that?” One of the men nods. “Jesus fuck. Please don't use this footage,” he says, hoping whoever edits his show will have mercy on him. No Amy, and now it seems like no Greg, either. “At least I still have you guys,” he says to the cameras. It's not as comforting as he'd hoped.

* * *

 

The next night, it's Zach and Christy's date at the club. Zach puts on his best pair of dark jeans and a shirt he doesn't mind getting beer spilled on, grabs his car keys and makes his way downstairs. He stops in his tracks when he sees his parents standing by the door as if they're waiting for him.

“Hey,” he says slowly. “Just heading out for my date.”

“Zach, can we talk to you?” his mother says.

“Mom, Dad, I do not need a recreation of the sex talk, okay, it was traumatic enough the first time. Besides, I'm not going to have sex with Christy. I promise.”

“It's not that,” his father says quickly, looking deeply uncomfortable at the very thought.

“Honey, you and Amy broke up very recently,” his mother begins. Zach closes his eyes.

“Mom, please don't do this right now.”

“Zach. Listen to your mother.”

“I know you were really upset about your breakup,” his mother continues gently. “And that's okay. It's okay to be upset. It takes time to heal. And I think you're rushing into this new relationship too fast, honey. You need to give yourself some time.”

“And besides, is this girl really your type?” his father cuts in. “She doesn't seem like the kind of girl who—”

“What, who would date me?” Zach interjects. “Because she's hot and I'm a freakishly tall kid who's only ever had one girlfriend? Is that what you mean?” He knows he's being overly defensive, but he doesn't care. He's already been chewed out by Greg for his decisions, he can't take any more of it.

“That's not what I'm saying,” his father protests. “We just think you're being too hasty.”

“Yeah, well, I don't need my parents' approval to date someone,” Zach snaps. “I'm an adult, I can do whatever I want, okay? Just...just please stay out of my love life. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late for my date. Come on, guys.” He pushes past his parents and opens the door, his camera crew following behind. One of them gives Mr. and Mrs. Stone an apologetic smile as he passes.

Zach is pissed by the time he gets to Christy's house. “Like, can't I just have this one thing? This one thing without being lectured by literally every single person in my life?” he asks his crew as they pull into the driveway. Christy, wearing a black dress and heels, gets into the car.

“Hey,” he greets her. He takes in her dress. “You look...really nice.”

“I was going for, like, flirty and fun but not slutty. What do you think? Do I look hot?” She fluffs up her hair and smiles at the camera. Zach swallows nervously.

“Yeah. Definitely hot,” he stammers.

When they get to the club, Christy is able to get them in quickly because she knows someone there. Christy seems to know someone everywhere. They're immediately immersed in a throbbing crowd of sweaty people dancing and drinking while colorful lights spin and thrumming bass finds its way into their ribcages.

“It's really crowded!” Zach yells.

“What?” Christy yells back, but she dances away before he can repeat himself. He glances at the camera crew, who are taking places by the walls to avoid a stray elbow or knee busting the equipment. Zach squeezes through the sea of bodies and presses himself up against the bar. He watches Christy dance, watches the cameras focus in on her. It doesn't bother him, for once. He's kind of glad to have all eyes off him for a second. He's felt a little overburdened by everyone's critical eyes on him as of late.

The bartender taps him. “You gonna order a drink, buddy?”

Zach cringes internally at the nickname, thinking of David Lorraine. “Uh, yeah. A shirley temple, please? Extra cherries.”

The bartender raises his eyebrows. “All right...weirdo.”

As Zach fishes a maraschino cherry out of his glass with his fingers, he feels a strange sense of acceptance. If nothing else, he's always been good at predicting how things will pan out when it comes to mingling with the popular crowd.  


	6. Zach Stone Is Gonna Blow Up (And Take Over)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Zach and Christy’s relationship continues, Zach begins to question if he’s doing the right thing. After a confrontation with someone from Amy’s past, Zach is forced to make a hard decision.

_THE STONE HOUSEHOLD – Located in a suburb in Boston. The Stone family is eating dinner. It's an oddly silent affair._

“Zach, you're quiet tonight,” Mrs. Stone says. Mr. Stone sighs.

“Come on, Sidney, can't we just have one quiet meal?” he says. His wife gives him a look.

Zach pushes his food around on his plate. “I just don't have anything to say, I guess.”

Andy glances at the cameras and then at Zach. “How come you're not out partying with Christy Ackerman? Isn't that what you do these days?”

It's true that Zach has been spending a lot more time out of the house lately. Since Christy isn't a two-plus hour drive away, they're able to see each other more often than Zach and Amy were able to. And, Christy is determined to be on camera as much as possible, so she's always planning things.

Zach makes a face at Andy. “We're filming a show, Andy, it's not 'partying.' And we're taking a day off.”

“She annoys you, doesn't she?” Andy says knowingly.

“Dude, shut up,” Zach says, side-eyeing the camera. “She doesn't annoy me, she just...overwhelms me. Occasionally. It's fine.”

“If you don't like her, you should break up with her,” Andy says.

“I'm not taking dating advice from you, you're 12. You don't even have a girlfriend,” Zach says.

“I'm almost 16, and I  _do_  have a girlfriend!” Andy says. “You've met her like ten times!”

Zach opens his mouth to respond, but then his phone buzzes. He glances at it, and sees it's a text from David Lorraine.  _“New promo airs today!! Keep an eye out!! -DL”_ Zach smiles to himself.

“What's that, honey?” his mother asks.

“There's a new promo coming out today,” Zach says. “It'll have the footage with Christy and the new show title.”

When the first bunch of footage with Christy had been sent in, David Lorraine and Zach had had a meeting over Skype to discuss the show's new direction.

“There's so many directions we can go with this,” David had said. “We want this to be  _your_ show, Zach. You're the leading man.”

“Yeah, yeah definitely,” Zach said excitedly. “So what's the new name?”

“We're thinking  _Love & Lies with Zach Stone_. Catchy, right?”

Zach nodded, taking it in. “Yeah, it's great! Makes me sound like some kind of mysterious bachelor.”

“We could go that route,” David said. “Buddy, there are so many possibilities. We're gonna create the perfect image for you. A whole new Zach Stone.”

Zach has been eager to see the new promo ever since this conversation with David Lorraine. He's curious to see what image the promo will create for him. It's a little strange to be so out of the loop in the editing of his own TV persona, but he trusts the MTV execs. After all, he's the leading man. They're going to make him the best version of Zach Stone possible.

“Do you think Amy's going to see the new promo?” Zach's mother asks after a moment. “I wonder how she'll react.”

Zach hadn't thought of that. He bites his lip. “Do you think she'll be upset?” he asks.

His mother doesn't respond. His father and brother conveniently avoid eye contact. Zach pushes his plate away. “Can I be excused?” he asks.

“Sure, sweetie. Take your plate to the kitchen.”

Zach puts his dishes in the sink and goes to the living room, turning on the TV and switching to MTV. He puts it on mute and scrolls through Instagram on his phone while he waits. He goes to Amy's profile and flicks through her pictures. She hasn't posted anything in a while. He stops at a picture she'd posted a month ago, when the two of them were still together. They're laying on Zach's bed, heads tilted towards each other. She's looking at the camera, a giggly grin on her face. Zach's face is scrunched with laughter and his nose is brushing against her cheek. At the bottom of the picture, you can just barely see that Zach's arm is around her waist.

He remembers that moment with painful clarity. Amy had wanted to take their picture, and when she lifted her phone up to take the photo, she'd accidentally dropped it on both their faces. It had snapped a photo of both of them looking blurry and terrified right before the phone smacked them. Zach couldn't stop laughing about it for at least ten minutes. The first picture had been Zach's phone background for a while, but Amy refused to post it on Instagram because they looked ridiculous. He smiles at the memory now, wondering if he still has that picture saved on his phone.

“Boss, look,” one of the cameramen says. Zach's pulled out of his thoughts and looks at the screen to see the promo starting. He turns up the volume and sits up, watching eagerly.

This promo features a few clips of Zach and Amy, midway showing a few seconds of their breakup. Zach doesn't want to relive the moment, but the images pass soon enough and clips of him and Christy follow. The title,  _Love & Lies with Zach Stone_, fades in as the peppy music comes to a peak. Zach has to admit, the show looks much more intriguing now than it had before. The promo had also made Zach seem like a cool, brooding young man with two women fighting over him. It's a bizarre contrast to Zach's actual persona, but he thinks he can get behind it.

After the promo, Zach's fanblog is abuzz with discussion. People seem to find the idea of a love triangle much more exciting than just watching Zach and Amy go about their relationship.

“I knew I made the right decision by dating Christy,” Zach says to the cameras. “Everyone wants to see celebrities going through emotional turmoil, so by dating someone so quickly after my painful breakup, I'm really giving my audience what they want.” He gestures to the computer screen. “If this response is anything to go off, the show is going to be a hit!”

* * *

 

One day, Zach and Christy are at the mall so Christy can buy a new dress. Zach is following her around with his hands in his pockets, unsure of what he's supposed to do surrounded by all the dresses and skirts.

“Is it okay if I go to the men's section?” he asks her.

“I guess,” Christy says. “You guys stay with me,” Christy says. She holds up the dresses she's picked out so far. “I'm going to try these on, you can tell me what you think.” She winks at them.

“All right, whatever, have fun,” Zach says, waving them off. He meanders through the racks of clothes in the men's section, not really looking for anything in particular. He's just looking at some extra-tall jeans when he happens to glance up and make eye contact with a very familiar someone.

It's Nick. Zach gets a momentary flash of panic before he adopts an air of casual distaste and dramatically looks away. He can tell that Nick is approaching him, however, and he looks back at him, guarded.

“Hey, Nick,” he says.

“Hey,” Nick says shortly. “I've been wondering if I'd see you around. Where's your camera crew?”

“They're with Christy,” Zach replies coolly.

“Good.” Nick crowds into Zach's space and backs him up against one of the racks, glaring at him.

“Shit,” Zach mutters. “Listen, Nick, please don't beat me up, or at least avoid my face.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Nick snaps.

“What are you talking about?”

“You and Amy break up and then a week later you're dating someone else? How could you treat Amy that way?”

“Okay, first of all, it was a week and a half,” Zach says. “And second, you don't know anything about it, okay, Nick? You have no idea—”

“I know that Amy really cared about you,” Nick says. “And I know that breaking up with you must have been a really emotionally compromising thing for her to go through. And honestly, I thought you cared about her, too. At least enough to wait before jumping onto the next girl that came along.”

Zach's shocked by Nick's words. He didn't realize how much Nick really cared about Amy until this moment. He recovers quickly, though. “I did—I  _do—_ care about Amy, all right? I wouldn't expect you to understand my reasons for dating Christy, but it's not because I don't care. Fuck you for acting like you care more about her than me. You have  _no idea_.” In a stroke of either insanity or bravery, he pushes Nick away from him.

Nick looks momentarily like he wants to kick the shit out of him, but then he deflates. “Whatever,” he says, stepping back.

Zach's proud of himself for his response, and he knows he should just walk away while he's still safe, but he can't help but get in one more jab. He leans in and says, “And by the way, my dick is bigger than yours.”

Nick looks both confused and disgusted. “What the fuck did you just—”

Zach power walks away before Nick can say anymore. He's full of adrenaline, and when he meets up with Christy and the crew he says loudly, “I just delivered a verbal smackdown to a total jerk. Who's the tough guy now, Nick?”

Christy just stares at him, not getting it. As they walk out of the store, Zach calms down a little to process what Nick said. He hates to admit this ever in his life, but he thinks Nick might be right. From Amy's point of view, it probably looks like Zach was rushing to get into a relationship again, as if theirs was just one on a checklist instead of something special. Guilt burns in his gut and he pushes it away, putting his arm around Christy's shoulder and smiling for the cameras.

* * *

 

That night, Zach's staring at his phone. He wants to text Amy, but he doesn't know what to say. They haven't talked since the breakup, and he can feel her absence more than ever tonight. He's typed out and then deleted too many messages to count.

_“I miss you.”_

_“There was a new promo. Did you see it?”_

_“Are you mad at me?”_

_“I'm sorry.”_

_“Never think you're not important, okay?”_

This last one his doesn't delete. He closes the messenger app without sending it. He takes a deep breath and then calls Greg. It rings for a while, and he's nervous that maybe Greg won't answer. Finally, though, he picks up.

“Zach?”

“Greg, listen,” Zach says quickly. “I'm really sorry about always taking over conversations and making them about me. I don't just want an empty vessel to talk at, I want my best friend.”

“I'm sorry too,” Greg says. “I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. You were right, I'm supposed to be on your side. You're my best friend.”

Zach's getting a little choked up. “You're mine too, man.” He sniffles. “So, uh, how's your girlfriend?”

“Oh,” Greg says, taken aback. “She's awesome. Her name's Grace. I'll send you a picture of her. She's really cool.”

“I'm really happy for you,” Zach says, and he means it.

“Thanks, man,” Greg says. “So, how are things with you and Christy?”

Zach groans. “It's fucking weird, dude. We don't ever talk or hang out without the cameras in our faces. It's like we're only dating onscreen, you know?”

“Yeah, that's kind of exactly what I expected,” Greg admits.

“Me too,” Zach says, sheepish. “It's still weird though.” He pauses. “Did you see the new promo?”

“Yeah, I did.  _Love & Lies with Zach Stone_, huh? Sounds pretty badass.”

“I know right?” Zach says, laughing a little. “Um, Greg? Have you talked to Amy at all?” Greg doesn't reply right away. “Greg?” Zach says.

“Yeah, sorry, I'm still here,” Greg says. “I talked to her, yeah.”

“How is she?” Zach asks immediately. He's aware of the desperate eagerness in his voice, and adds in an attempt at casualness, “I mean, you know, just out of curiosity.”

“She's doing okay,” Greg says.

“Did she, uh, mention me? When you talked?”

“That's basically all we talked about,” Greg admits.

“What did she say?”

“I don't know if I should say...”

“Greg, please,” Zach whines.

“She's still pretty upset,” Greg says. “And, um, she also said that she thinks you're being really stupid.”

Zach winces. “Oh.”

“Sorry, I shouldn't have told you that.”

“So she doesn't seem like she's leaning towards asking me to take her back?” Zach says.

“...not really, no.”

Zach's teeth dig into his bottom lip and he breathes through his nose, frustrated. “All right. It's cool.”

“I'm sorry, dude,” Greg says again.

“It's fine. Thanks for the update, Greg.”

They say their goodbyes, and Zach turns off his light and gets into bed. He tosses and turns for a while, finally pulling out his phone and staring at the text draft he last typed for Amy. “ _Never think you're not important, okay?_ ” He pushes send before he can second-guess himself, and then shoves his phone into his bedside drawer and goes to sleep.

The next morning, he has a new text message. It's from Amy. Zach's heart pounds against his ribs as he opens it.

It just says, “ _Thanks_.”

* * *

 

Zach and Christy are at the beach. It's starting to get too cold to actually go out in the water, but it's still decent enough weather to lay out on towels in the sand and tan, which is what Christy's doing. Zach is in a t-shirt and his swim trunks and is lathered in a ton of sunscreen. “I burn easily,” he'd explained to Christy when she questioned why he didn't want to tan with her.

“This is nice,” Zach says, squinting out at the water.

“Mm,” Christy hums, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head.

“So I talked to Greg, and he said Amy's not feeling like taking me back or anything,” Zach says in a low voice. “I don't think the jealousy thing is working.”

“Ugh, who cares?” Christy says. She rolls onto her back. “You're better off now, anyway.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Zach,” Christy says, looking at him. “Your show is  _way_ more interesting now that I'm your girlfriend, and you know it. Besides, I make you look good. I'm hotter than Amy.” She stretches her arms over her head as if to prove a point.

“Hey, don't say that,” Zach says defensively. “There was — is — nothing wrong with Amy.”

“Calm down, Zach, I'm just telling it like it is,” Christy says. “I mean, yeah, she's fine if you're into the whole girl-next-door, still-dresses-like-a-sixth-grader look. But MTV wants sex and glamor and fun, and that's what I have.” She winks at the cameras.

“Amy is beautiful,” Zach says angrily. “And she was great on the show, okay?”

“Okay, jeez,” Christy says, furrowing her brow. “What's your deal?”

Zach pinches the bridge of his nose. “Nothing.” He flops onto his stomach and rests his chin on his folded arms, staring pensively out at the people running along the edge of the sea. After a few minutes of steaming in silence, he gets up. “I think I should go home. I...feel like I'm getting a sunburn.”

“But you put on so much sunblock,” Christy says.

“I don't want to get skin cancer, Christy,” Zach huffs. “Come on, guys,” he says to the crew.

“Oh, can't they stay?” Christy asks. “Don't we need more footage?”

“I think we're good,” Zach says. “I'll see you later.”

“Okay, bye,” Christy says, sounding disgruntled.

“What was that about, boss?” asks one of his crew when they get in Zach's car.

He exhales. “Did you hear the way she was talking about Amy? God, what a bitch. What is  _with_  her?” He shakes his head. “You didn't film that, did you? Just now?”

The red “recording” symbol is in the corner of the screen. “Uh, nope.”

* * *

 

As Zach sits in his room mulling things over that night, his mother knocks on the door. He looks up.

“Zach? Can I come in?” she asks.

“Uh, sure, I guess,” he says. She sits next to him on the bed.

“How are you doing, sweetie?”

He deflates slightly. “This thing with Christy isn't really working out,” he says.

His mother hums sympathetically and pats his back. “What are you going to do?”

“I don't know!” he says. “I want to break up with her, but the show...”

“Do you want my opinion?” Mrs. Stone asks. Zach side-eyes her.

“I guess.”

“I think that if you're unhappy in the relationship, you shouldn't stay in it just for the show. You're always coming up with new ideas, you can get famous some other way if this doesn't work.” She looks at him seriously. “The most important thing is that you should be happy, Zach. That's all I want for you.”

He nods. “Yeah. I know.”

She kisses the top of his head and stands up to leave. Before she shuts the door, Zach calls out to her.

“Hey, mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Um, thanks.”

She smiles fondly at him. “You're welcome. Goodnight, Zach.”

“Night.” After his mother leaves, Zach picks up his phone and stares at Christy's contact info, finger hovering over the “call” button. Finally, he pushes it and holds the phone to his ear before he can chicken out.

“Hello?” Christy says.

“Christy? It's Zach.”

“Yeah, I know. What is it?”

“Um, we need to talk.” He doesn't know how to do this. He's never broken up with someone before.

“Can we make it quick? I was about to go to bed,” she says.

“Christy, we need to break up,” Zach says abruptly.

She's quiet for a minute, and then laughs. “Is this a bit for the show? Do you want me to pretend to cry?”

“No, this is for real,” Zach says. “This isn't working out.”

“What about the show?” Christy says, confusion and irritation lacing her voice. “You realize if you break up with me, you're throwing the show away too.”

“I'll figure something out,” he says with more confidence than he feels. “We're just not right for each other, you know that. You don't even like me!”

“Who cares if we like each other off camera, it's just for the show!” Christy says. She sounds pissed. “It doesn't have to be real.”

“But I want it to be real,” Zach says.

“Do you think anyone's going to want to watch your show if it's 'real'?” Christy says, scathing. “You're not interesting, Zach. Without me, your show's boring.”

“That's—that's not—look, Christy, we're broken up, all right, and that's that!” Zach says.

“Whatever. It's your career you're throwing away, not mine,” Christy says. “Goodbye, Zach.”

She hangs up and Zach stares at his phone's screen for a minute. He shakes head and mumbles, “What the fuck did I just do?”  


	7. Zach Stone Is On Television

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zach's show is airing on MTV in two days, and he enlists Greg to help him set up a premiere party at his parents' house. He expects the whole town to show up, but he is especially hoping for an appearance from Amy.

_A LOCAL DINER – Located in a suburb in Boston. MTV executive David Lorraine is sitting with Zach Stone at a booth. David is drinking a lemon soda, and Zach is drinking a milkshake._

“I'm glad you could meet with me, buddy,” David Lorraine says. Zach nods, slurping his milkshake a little too loudly.

“Of course,” he says when he's swallowed. “So, um, are you here to tell me the show is definitely canceled forever now?”

David chuckles. “Not exactly. Although your little trend of breaking up with people isn't exactly helping our plans for the show.” He takes a sip of his drink. “Luckily, we've got enough footage to air four episodes now. They're all ready in post-production, and the pilot is set to air in two days.”

“Holy shit, really?” Zach's eyes go wide.

“Yep! You're going to be on TV, Zach. How's that feel?”

Zach can barely contain himself. “Oh my God. This is incredible. Thank you so much. I'm actually gonna be famous!”

David smiles indulgently. “That's right. We're very happy to give you this opportunity, Zach. And we hope to continue it, but it all depends on the reception these four episodes get.” He pauses, letting his words sink in. “The camera crew is going to take a temporary break, and after the show's aired we'll meet again to discuss the future of the series and your contract.”

Zach nods, a little nervous. “Okay.”

David reaches over to shake Zach's shoulder playfully. “Relax, buddy, I'm sure everyone will love it. You just focus on promoting it over the next few days, all right? Tell all your friends! Have a premiere party or something,” he adds, chuckling.

Zach raises his eyebrows. He hadn't thought of a premiere party. He's going to have to call Greg.

* * *

 

“Greg, I need your help,” Zach says.

On the other end of the phone, Greg sighs. “Tell me what it is first.”

“The show airs in two days and I have to throw a premiere party.”

“You  _have_ to?”

“David Lorraine said that the future of my  _career_  depends on the success of the first four episodes,” Zach says. “If we throw a premiere party and get hundreds of people to come, it'll amp up the popularity right away!”

“Where are you going to put hundreds of people?” Greg asks.

“My parents' living room,” Zach says, as if its obvious.

* * *

 

Greg is reluctant at first, but finally he decides that leaving Zach entirely to his own devices would be more dangerous than assisting him, so he comes over after classes the next day and sits in Zach's dining room with him making posters to hang up around town.

“Thanks for coming to help me out, man,” Zach says, smearing glitter glue across the border of the poster he's making. “And thanks for bringing your mom's craft supplies.”

“Yeah, it's no problem,” Greg says. “We haven't really hung out in a while.”

“Yeah.” Zach stares at the paper. “How's college? Your roommate still cool?”

“He's all right,” Greg says. “We don't talk much. He's in a bunch of clubs.”

Zach nods. “You uh, you talk to Amy recently?”

Greg shakes his head. “No, sorry, man. We don't talk that often.”

Zach moves on to the next poster. There's a question burning on the tip of his tongue, but he's afraid to ask it. Finally, he blurts out, “Do you think she'd want to come? To the premiere?”

“Amy?” Greg shrugs. “I don't know...I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask, but I doubt it.”

“Would you ask her?” Zach asks.

“I think you should be the one to ask her,” Greg tells him. “Have you even talked to her since the breakup?”

Zach thinks about the text he'd sent Amy recently. “ _Never think you're not important, okay?_ ” He decides he wants to keep that to himself, so he shakes his head. “No, I haven't.”

Greg decides not to comment on that. “Are you going to invite Christy?” he says instead.

“No way, are you kidding me?” Zach says. “Amy would definitely say no if Christy was gonna be there. Anyway, she sucks, remember?” He sets his poster aside. “Okay, that's the last one. Let's go hang these babies up around town!”

They get several irritated store owners reprimanding them (or rather, reprimanding Zach, because he's the one trying to hang posters up without permission), but Pat is reliable as ever and lets them hang up three posters in his store.

“And you can count on me being there for the big party,” he says, grinning.

Zach smiles, genuinely touched by Pat's continued support. For a long time he'd worried that Pat only thought of him as a mediocre employee, but lately he's been so quick to give Zach approval; maybe it's just the impending fame influencing him, but Zach thinks he can definitely live with that kind of reaction to his celebrity status.

“Thanks, Pat,” Zach says. They head out of the store and hang up the last few posters on some bulletin boards around town and a couple on some trees in the park.

“Now what?” Greg asks.

“The show airs tomorrow,” Zach says. “We've gotta start preparing the house. I'm thinking, like, a disco ball, maybe a minibar, definitely one of those chocolate fountains.”

“Where are you gonna get all that stuff?” Greg says. “And how are you gonna afford it?”

“I got my first paycheck from MTV,” Zach says, grinning. “Dude, we're gonna go all out.”

“Do you really wanna blow your first paycheck on party supplies? I mean, you don't even know how many people are coming.”

“Greg,” Zach says, a twinge of frustration in his voice, “it's gonna be packed, trust me. I want to make a good impression. This will be my first time hosting a party as a celebrity.”

“Okay,” Greg says. “A chocolate fountain does sound pretty cool.”

“Right?” Zach claps his hands excitedly. “Let's get shopping.”

* * *

 

“Zach, what the hell are you doing?” Mr. Stone has just walked into his living room to see his oldest son standing precariously on a ladder and attempting to hang a disco ball from Hot Topic onto the ceiling fan, which he has at least had the sense to turn off first.

“I'm decorating for the premiere party,” Zach says, grunting slightly as he leans forward.

“Jesus, Zach, you're gonna break your neck,” his father says, coming around to hold the ladder steady. Zach manages to hook the disco ball onto a fan blade and nods in satisfaction, climbing down.

“Thanks for your help, dad,” he says, patting his dad on the back.

“You're welc—wait, Zach, what did you say about a party?” his father says, frowning.

“My show airs tomorrow!” Zach says. “I'm hosting a premiere party!”

“Not here you're not,” Mr. Stone says sternly. Zach's mother comes into the room.

“Where did that disco ball come from?” she asks.

“Sidney, tell your son he can't have a party in our house,” Mr. Stone says.

“Mom,” Zach whines. “It's for my show. It's an important part of the promotional process!”

“Well, how many people are coming over?” his mother says, attempting to mediate.

“Oh, I'm expecting hundreds,” Zach says. “Yeah, I put signs up all over town, it should be a full house.”

“What? You put up signs with our address on them?” Mrs. Stone says. Mr. Stone makes a “what did I tell you?” face at her.

“Why is there a chocolate fountain in the kitchen?” Andy says, entering the room. Mrs. Stone closes her eyes in exasperation.

“Zach, you can't just bring this stuff into the house without asking,” she says.

“How did you pay for all this?” Mr. Stone adds.

“If you'll recall, I do have a job,” Zach says, annoyed. “That's what this party is all about, remember? Celebrating the start of my dream career? Which my amazingly supportive parents will of course approve of?”

Mr. and Mrs. Stone look at each other.

“Of course we approve of it,” Mrs. Stone says finally, smiling.

Zach fist pumps. “Yes! You're the best parents! I will be sure to thank you in my Grammy acceptance speech.”

Andy follows him into the kitchen, where the giant chocolate fountain is barely fitting on the counter. “Why did you get such a huge fountain?” he asks.

“Well, it's gotta feed a lot of people,” Zach says.

“Dude, you don't really think people are going to come, do you?” Andy says.

Zach scowls at him. “Andy, I don't just think  _people_  are going to come. I think the whole  _town_ is gonna come. It's exciting for them! Watching one of their own skyrocket to stardom.” He makes a rocket ship sound and an explosion gesture with his hands.

“Yeah, whatever,” Andy says, shaking his head. “There's gonna be a lot of chocolate left over, that's all I'm saying.” He starts to leave.

“Hey, Andy?” Zach calls. Andy glances back. “Um, you're gonna be there, right?”

Andy purses his lips. “Maybe.”

“Please? You can even bring your girlfriend. It'd be fun. Please, little brother?” He sticks out his bottom lip, using the same pouty face that he used as a child when his mom wouldn't buy him candy at the grocery store.

“Okay, okay, yeah, we'll be there. Just stop making that weird face.”

After Andy leaves the kitchen, Zach pulls out his phone and starts a new text to Amy. “ _Hey, so the show premieres tomorrow at 7. I'm having a little party thing at my parents' house. Would you want to come, maybe?_ ” He presses send, then immediately sends another text that says, “ _You don't have to. It's totally fine. Either way._ ”

A few moments later, she responds. “ _I don't know, Zach..._ ”

Zach types out, “ _It's fine. I'd love to see you there._ ” He pauses, rewrites, “ _It'd mean a lot if you were there_.” Then he deletes that and simply says instead, “ _It's fine._ ” He presses send and then puts his face in his hands.

* * *

 

The day of the premiere, Zach is practically bouncing off the walls all day. He spends nearly an hour just deciding what shirt to wear. Then, he barges into Andy's room and demands to know what he's going to wear that evening.

“I don't know, what I'm wearing now?” Andy says. Zach takes in Andy's green polo and cargo shorts with a wrinkled nose.

“Andy. Little brother. I do not want my brother at my premiere dressed like a demented toddler. Do you have, like, I don't know, a tuxedo or something?”

“No,” Andy says. “Dude, get out of my room. I'll change into something more formal, just get out.”

Zach checks on his parents next, who are eating breakfast in the dining room and looking thoroughly underwhelmed by the prospects of the evening.

“Parents! Please tell me you are going to dress up tonight,” he says, entering the room with his arms raised in exasperation.

“Good morning, Zach,” Mrs. Stone says calmly. “Would you like some pancakes?”

“Mom, did you not hear what I—” he pauses, the smell of the food hitting him. “Yes I'd love pancakes.” He grabs a plate and piles four pancakes onto it. “Anyway, what are you two wearing tonight?” he asks as he shovels food into his mouth.

“Zach, slow down, you're going to choke,” Mrs. Stone says. “Your father and I will wear something nice, I promise.”

Zach finishes breakfast in record time and then sits at the table drumming his fingers on the edge. His father stares at him.

“You know the show doesn't air for another 10 hours, right?” he says. “Why are you so antsy?”

“I'm not!” Zach protests. He bites his lip. “I invited Amy,” he says in a quieter voice.

“Oh,” his father says, eyebrows raised. “Is she coming?”

“I, uh, I don't know,” Zach admits. “She never gave me a for sure answer. But if she does come, I just...I want everything to be perfect, you know? I want her to be impressed.”

Zach's parents look at each other. He doesn't catch their expressions because he's too busy checking his reflection in the back of a spoon. “Does my hair look okay?” he asks.

“You look fine, Zach. Calm down. Why don't you go get some fresh air or something, take your mind off things,” Mrs. Stone suggests. Zach nods distractedly and gets up from the table, heading out the back door to take a walk around the block.

It's a gorgeous day, the weather surprisingly warm for the time of year, and Zach feels his anxious nerves relaxing as he walks up the familiar streets of his childhood. He remembers all the times he and Amy would walk around this block together, or ride their bikes, racing to see who could get to the park first. One time, Zach had been pedaling too fast and had tumbled over, scraping his knees and palms badly. He'd shrieked loudly, fat tears pouring out of his eyes at the sight of his own blood. Amy had run over to him immediately, her own bike forgotten, and had helped him limp home to get cleaned up. Her arm around his waist, his arm around her shoulders, the walk was a slow, lopsided, and painful one. Zach sniffled pathetically, embarrassed to be crying in front of a girl (even if it was his best friend), but Amy had just reassured him over and over, saying “It's gonna be okay, Zach,” and “We're almost there.”

Zach smiles to himself at the memory. He'd been eight at the time, and he can remember that even then he thought that Amy was the most beautiful girl in the whole world. He'd been in love with her from the start.

* * *

 

At 6:30 p.m., Greg shows up with his girlfriend, Grace. Zach had insisted that Greg bring her along, and he's glad he did, because as soon as the petite, dark-haired girl with caramel-colored skin and bright eyes enters his house, she's talking eagerly at him.

“Oh my God, it is  _so_ good to finally meet you!” Grace says, shaking his hand. “Greg talks about you all the time. I think it is  _so_ cool that you're going to be on TV! Greg told me all about what you did last summer. I really admire your dedication.”

Zach's overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, but she's so genuine and kind that he can't help but grin. “Thank you! It's so nice to meet you, too.” When Grace goes into the living room, Zach raises his eyebrows at Greg and gives him a double thumbs-up.

“Dude, she's awesome,” he hisses. Greg smiles, bashful and proud.

“Yeah, she's the best,” he says. “She thinks you're so cool, by the way. I swear she's a legitimate fangirl. She loves your blog.”

“Oh my God,” Zach says, clapping his hands in glee. “This is the best night of my life!” It's almost true — Zach is certain it will be the best night of his life if Amy decides to come.

Around 6:45, Pat shows up. Zach is starting to get nervous again. The disco ball is spinning in the living room as some techno music plays, but the only people milling around and dipping strawberries in the chocolate fountain are Greg, Grace, and Zach's parents. Andy is out with his girlfriend, but Zach has already made him swear to come back to the house with her by seven.

“Where is everyone?” Zach whispers to Greg, watching as Pat strikes up a conversation with his parents.

“We've still got fifteen minutes,” Greg says, shrugging a little. Zach sighs, nodding. Greg watches him. “There's still time for her to show up,” he says in a low voice. Zach looks at him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

Andy and his girlfriend finally arrive at five minutes to seven, although she looks immediately uncomfortable at the sight of Pat. Pat, on the other hand, looks a little too excited to see her.

“Hi Denise,” he says loudly. “Remember me?”

Andy gives Zach a pointed look, and Zach quickly enlists Pat to help him unplug the disco ball and turn off the music. He turns on the TV and cranks the volume as everyone takes a seat around the television.

“You are about to witness the birth of a celebrity,” he says in a hushed voice. As the clock hits seven and the show's intro starts to play, Zach pulls two handfuls of glitter out of his pockets and throws them in the air. For once, his father doesn't reprimand him for the mess. He looks rather proud, Zach thinks.

* * *

 

The episode is an entertaining one. It's introductory, with lots of sweet moments between Zach and Amy, as well as Zach telling the audience stories about him and Amy from times past. When Greg appears on screen during a scene, Grace squeals excitedly and Zach punches his best friend in the arm, grinning. Greg looks bashful, but excited all the same.

Zach's family all look pleased when they make appearances onscreen. The editors have really emphasized Mrs. Stone as the supportive, doting mother, which makes her smile proudly to herself. Andy's a little irritated that his clips all make him out to be a bit of a brat, but Zach can't stop smirking about it.

Zach himself seems far more lofty and almost douchey in the show. He's funny and charming, but many of the dorky, cute things he'd done or said around Amy have been cut. He doesn't mind, necessarily; the version of himself on television seems a lot cooler than he feels in real life. And perhaps it is because he'd give anything to see Amy, but Zach thinks that she is exactly as perfect in real life as she appears on screen.

When the episode ends and the promo for next week airs, Zach is grinning from ear to ear. His mother comes up behind him and hugs him tightly, and then his father joins the hug.

“We're proud of you, Zach,” he says. “I can't believe you're on TV!”

“I can't believe  _we're_ on TV,” Mrs. Stone adds. Zach laughs.

Grace starts clapping, and then everyone joins in. It may only be an audience of seven people, but Zach glows under their applause. In that moment, he's never felt more alive or confident in himself. He still in a state of shock at the fact that he was just on television,  _again_ , but this time not just a local news station. This is MTV. And he, Zach Stone, is the leading role. The titular character. Even Andy has nothing teasing to say.

“You did good, big bro,” he says, patting his back.

“I am just so proud,” Pat says, grasping Zach by the shoulders. “I'm not surprised, of course. But I am so proud.”

“Thanks, Pat,” Zach says.

“Zach, come look at this,” says Grace, who is on her iPad. Zach joins her, leaning over her shoulder to look at the screen. She's on Twitter, and Zach sees the hashtag #LoveAndLiesMTV is trending. What's more, #ZachStone is trending as well. He gapes, gripping Grace's shoulder and laughing in disbelief.

“I'm trending on Twitter!” he yells. “This is it! This is what fame feels like!” He shimmies a little, unable to control himself.

Everyone stays at the Stone household for a while after the premiere. There's plenty of chocolate to eat, and Mr. and Mrs. Stone are more lenient about having people over late tonight. Finally, though, people start to head out. Mr. Stone takes Denise home, Pat heads out soon after, and Greg and Grace announce that they're going back to Greg's parents' house for the night.

“Congrats again, man,” Greg says, giving Zach a hug. “You did it!”

“Yeah, I did,” Zach says, smiling. He's coming down from his high a bit now, and he glances at his phone. He's been hoping that Amy would at least text him, but so far he's got nothing.

Greg watches him. “I'm sorry Amy didn't make it,” he says.

“It's cool,” Zach says quickly. “I mean, yeah, I don't mind. She was probably just really busy tonight.”

“Yeah...” Greg says, indulging him even though neither of them believe it. “Well, I'll see you later, man.”

“You should come over next week to watch the next episode,” Zach says hopefully. “Grace can come too, if you want.”

“Sure,” Greg says, smiling.

Soon it's just Zach and his mother in the living room. She stares around at the glitter-strewn floor and the now mostly-empty chocolate fountain. “Well,” she says, “for such a small party there sure is a lot of mess.”

“I'll clean it up in the morning, I promise,” Zach says.

Mrs. Stone hugs her son. “I'm very happy for you, Zach. I know your father and I haven't always been as...understanding as we could have been about all this. But we've always wanted what's best for you. And you never gave up on your dreams. I'm proud of you for that.”

Zach leans in to his mother's embrace. “Thanks, mom.”

“You're going to remember this night for the rest of your life,” she tells him with a smile. “How do you feel like it went?”

Zach nods thoughtfully. “Pretty much perfect,” he says. It's not quite true—the one person that would have made it perfect is somewhere on the grounds of Brown University, and it's never felt like a further distance.  


	8. Zach Stone Is Taking Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zach's show is skyrocketing in popularity. With thousands of eyes on him, he starts to feel that no one knows the real Zach Stone. Zach gets a phone call that could change everything yet again.

_THE STONE HOUSEHOLD – Located in a suburb in Boston. Zach Stone is going through his unanswered messages on his fanblog. There are hundreds of messages._

To say that Zach's blog has become far more active since the show took off would be an understatement. They're two episodes in now, and every week after the episode airs, Zach's inbox fills up with messages. Throughout the week, he gets more, but the post-episode flood is always the most intense.

He's done his best to answer as many messages as he can, spending hours holed up in his room and typing away. It's the night before episode three airs, and Zach's just finished replying to a message asking him what his favorite food is (the answer is pizza) when his phone buzzes.

It's Amy. Her message says, “ _Hey, Zach. I don't think I'm gonna watch tonight's episode. Sorry._ ”

After the show's premiere two weeks ago, Amy had texted Zach. “ _Sorry I didn't make it,_ ” she'd said. “ _I just felt a little weird. I watched it, though._ ”

_ZACH: what did you think?_

_AMY: It was so good, Zach. You did it!!_

He was grinning like an idiot. They'd had their first real conversation in weeks after that, texting back and forth about their favorite parts of the episode, and eventually eased into cautious general life-talk, catching up in the most superficial of ways. Zach wanted to call her, but he was too nervous. He also wanted to ask her if she was seeing anyone, but he thought that was probably overstepping too soon, so he refrained.

For about twelve seconds.

_ZACH: so....are you seeing anyone?_

_ZACH: i know it's none of my business_

_AMY: Of course it's your business, you're my friend._

_AMY: And no, I'm not._

Zach did his happy dance for the second time that night.

So they'd been talking, these past few days, in an awkward semblance of normalcy. It's better than the silence of before, so Zach's certainly not complaining, but he can't deny that things feel pretty fucking weird, even more so than the bizarre aftermath of their first kiss last summer. Last week, their breakup had aired on national television. The conversation that night had been especially stilted, and Zach has been wondering if Amy's going to watch the next episode, which features Christy.

Now, responds to her text.

_ZACH: that's ok, i totally get it_

_ZACH: hey, so i've been thinking, maybe we could hang out sometime? like go see a movie or_ _something? just as friends. without cameras or anything._

He's been building up the courage to ask her this for days now, and when he hits send there's a split-second of regret and doubt, like maybe he shouldn't ask her something like this, and it's feeling like a goddamn rerun of last summer and he hates it.

_AMY: I don't know, Zach. I think maybe it's good for us to spend some time apart, you know?_

He knows, but he hates it. Haven't they spent enough time apart? It's been weeks. He knows Amy is easing back into their friendship, that he's hurt her and she's cautious, but he's starting to question whether or not it's even possible for things to go back to normal, ever.

Meanwhile, six new messages have appeared in his blog's inbox over the course of the few minutes he's been distracted. “Christ,” he mutters to himself.

“Hey, bud, what are you up to?” his father asks as he passes Zach's room. “Haven't hardly seen you all day.”

“I'm answering fan messages,” Zach replies. “It's getting hard to keep up.”

“You know you don't have to answer every one,” his father says, leaning on the doorframe. “Most celebrities don't even read all their fan mail.”

“Yeah, but I don't want to be like all the other celebrities,” Zach says. “I wanna show my fans I care about them so they'll never leave me.”

His father chuckles and shakes his head. “All right. Just try not to spend all your time holed up in here, you know? It's getting a little weird with the house so quiet.”

“You are not actually complaining about me  _not_ annoying you, are you?” Zach says with a wry smile.

“I'm just looking out for you,” his father says innocuously.

Zach squints at him. “Mom sent you up here, didn't she?”

“Yep.”

Zach snorts. “I'll be down for dinner, tell mom to stop fussing.”

* * *

 

Greg and Grace come over the next evening to watch episode three. Zach really likes Grace, she's a cool person, but he's starting to wish he hadn't told Greg to bring her every week. Watching the show is the only time he and Greg see each other lately, and there's just some things that boys don't talk about when one of their girlfriends is around. Plus, she's a legitimate fan of the show, which makes Zach feel like he's under a microscope at all times when he's hanging out with her.

Still, there's something Zach just has to talk to his best friend about, girlfriend or not. Before the episode starts, he turns to Greg and says, “Do you think exes can be friends? Like, for real?”

“So you've been talking to Amy more,” Greg says knowingly.

“Things are still so weird!” Zach exclaims. “We've been best friends since we were kids and now all of a sudden she doesn't even want to go see a movie with me.”

“It's not that she doesn't want to,” Greg says. “She probably just doesn't want to get dragged into the show again. It didn't really work for her last time.”

Zach hums thoughtfully, but then the show starts and Grace is shushing them. The episode starts by jumping right into Zach and Christy dating. It even shows Zach saying, “Christy and I go way back.” Zach is glad that Amy's not watching tonight.

When it's over, Zach feels a little unsettled. Onscreen Zach had seemed a little callous, if he's being honest. He seemed to move on from Amy without even a twinge of heartache. Zach complains to Greg about it.

“Man, I'm not trying to diss the editors or anything, but they kinda made me look like a dick,” he says.

“Well, if the shoe fits...” Greg says. Zach shoves him.

“Hey! I'm not a dick. They made it look like I didn't even care about the breakup.”

“That is kind of how it appeared,” Greg says.

“It's just the show,” Grace interjects. “I mean, Amy knows you cared, right? That's what matters.”

Zach sighs. “But I don't want the fans to think I'm some kind of asshole. I feel like they're not getting to know the  _real_ me.”

“How is that possible? The cameras followed you around all day,” Grace says.

“You don't understand,” Zach says. He's being petulant and whiny, but he can't help it.

He's still cranky when Greg and Grace head home, so he decides to read some new messages on the blog to distract him.

“ _Why is there this new girl?? I liked Amy better_.”

“ _Zach and Christy are pretty cute_.”

“ _Wow Zach seems like an asshole??? Where's Amy_ ”

The messages go on and on. Many of the messages are lamenting the loss of Amy on the show, which fills Zach with a strange mixture of sadness and pride. He sees one message from a user he recognizes—it's Christy's username.

“ _Zach, you need to make a fanblog for our relationship since you already have one for you and Amy. It's only fair and the fans will love it._ ”

It's the first interaction they've had since Zach broke up with her, and he rolls his eyes at her request. He responds, “ _I can barely keep up with this blog. If you want one, you make it._ ” He hits send and then gets back to the fan messages. He responds to a few here and there, but he's skipping over a lot of them, which he's never done before. It's partially because there are a lot of repeat questions, but also because he realizes what his father had said is true. There's no way for him to respond to every message, so why bother?

“ _Christy is way hotter than Amy. So glad Zach dumped her!_ ”

Zach stares at this message for a few seconds, a quiet rage slithering into his guts. He doesn't even know how to respond other than just saying “ _FUCK YOU_ ” in all caps. But that would be neither professional nor endearing, and Zach is trying his damnedest to be both. He already thinks that tonight's episode has given him a less-than-kind reputation, and cursing out a fan is not going to improve that. Zach decides that the best thing to do would be to just stop reading the messages altogether. There are too many that are comparing Amy and Christy, comparing their relationships to Zach, and all in totally inaccurate ways that aren't at all true of the real situations.

His phone buzzes. It's a text from Amy.

_AMY: How was the show tonight?_

_ZACH: it was ok, not as good as the episodes with you though_

_AMY: of course :)_

Amy is not the kind of person who uses emoticons liberally, so he knows the smiley face is genuine. His heart stutters in his chest.

_ZACH: can i call you?_

There's what seems like the longest silence ever as he waits. Instead of a text back, Zach's phone starts ringing.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Amy says on the other end of the line.

“Hi,” he says, a little too loud. “How are you?”

“I'm okay,” she says. “How's celebrity life?”

He laughs. “Um, it's great. Yeah, I'm getting tons of fan mail now. Lots of people saying how great they think you are, by the way.”

“That's great, Zach,” she says. “I saw your name trending on Twitter again tonight. People must like Christy too, huh?”

“I guess,” Zach says. “Tonight's episode was a little weird. I feel like it wasn't the real me onscreen.”

“Well, isn't that what you wanted, though?” Amy says. “To reinvent yourself?”

“Yeah, but...” Zach hesitates.

“You started dating Christy Ackerman so you could keep up appearances for your show,” Amy points out, and there's an edge in her voice now. “And when we were together, you were constantly wanting us to start over conversations or kisses or hugs just so you could get the right take. Of course it's not the real you onscreen, Zach.”

Zach exhales slowly. “I should probably go,” he says quietly. “I'm pretty tired.”

“Zach...” Amy says. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out.”

“No, you're fine,” Zach says. “You're right, I mean, it's not the real me. I'm not mad, I'm just tired.”

“Okay.” She doesn't sound entirely convinced. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he says. “Oh, and Amy?”

“Hmm?”

“It was really good to hear your voice.”

She makes a sound that could be the whisper of a laugh. “It was good to hear yours, too.”

* * *

 

Zach has another meeting with David Lorraine after the third episode airs. They again meet at the diner and sit across from each other in a booth, Zach with a milkshake and David with a lemon soda.

“The show has been a great success,” David tells him. “I'm sure you've noticed.”

“Oh my God, yeah,” Zach says. “The fanblog I run is blowing up, there are so many messages I can't even read them all. And I'm trending on Twitter every week!”

“Zach Stone is really taking over,” David says with a chuckle. “So Zach, I want to talk to you more about the future of the show. What direction you want to take it in. We could do so much with it; we were thinking maybe something like  _The Bachelor_ , you know? We could hook you up with a few girls a week, go through the process.”

Zach thinks back on  _The Zachelor_ he had attempted that summer. “Um, maybe not that one.”

“All right, well, we've got lots of other options. One thing we've been discussing is moving you down to California, so you're closer to the studios.”

“California?” Zach hasn't ever really considered the fact that he would move away to do the show. He's always had this fantasy of living in Hollywood, getting drinks with all the A-listers and throwing raging parties with strobe lights and his own personal DJ. He just didn't think that shift would happen so soon. He imagines being across the country from his family, from Greg, from Amy... “I don't know about that.”

David looks a little exasperated. “Well, think on it, okay, buddy? We've got some time. But episode four airs next week and we want to get the ball rolling with moving forward. Do you think you'll be ready to talk in more certain terms by then?”

David has always spoken to Zach in a very casual, friendly way, but there's a slight bite to his voice and a glint in his eye that tells Zach he means business this time. If Zach wants to keep his job, he'd better be ready to talk after next week.

“Yeah, yeah of course,” Zach says quietly.

“I knew I could count on you, buddy,” David says, reaching over to slap Zach's shoulder jovially.

* * *

 

“My manager is really fucking creepy,” Zach tells Andy. The two brothers are in the living room watching TV after Zach's meeting with David Lorraine.

“What, that MTV guy who always buys you milkshakes?” Andy says. “He doesn't sound creepy.”

“He gave me like a death glare today, it creeped me out.” Zach pauses. “They want to move me to California.”

“Seriously?” Andy sits up straighter. “When?”

“I don't know exactly, I guess as soon as possible.”

“I call dibs on your room,” Andy says. Zach throws a pillow at him.

“Dude, shut up!” he says. “I'm freaking out about this.”

Andy raises an eyebrow. “Isn't this like, your dream come true? California is where all the real celebrities live. I thought you'd be excited.”

“I've never been that far away from home in my life,” Zach says. “Be serious, Andy, you really think I could survive in Hollywood all by myself?”

His brother smiles a little. “I see your point. So what are you gonna do?”

Zach sighs. “I have no idea. But I have to make a decision by the time the next episode airs. That's what David Lorraine said while he was giving me the death glare.”

At that moment, Zach's phone rings. He doesn't recognize the number, but he answers anyway. “Hello, this is Zach Stone, star of MTV's hit show  _Love & Lies w—_” he stops, listening with wide eyes. “Wait,  _who_? For real?”

Andy looks at him, mouthing “who is it?” Zach waves him away, a grin blossoming on his face.

“Of  _course_ I'd be interested in being a guest on  _Ellen_ ,” he says. Andy stares at him.

“No fucking way,” he hisses. Zach just continues to beam at him, listening to the person on the other line.

“Uh huh. Yes. Yes! My manager is David Lorraine, yeah. Okay! Thank you so much!” Zach hangs up the phone and then throws his fists in the air and lets out a whoop of joy.

“Zach, what the hell?” Andy says. “Who was that?”

“Little brother, I was just cordially invited to make a guest appearance on  _Ellen_.” Zach still has his arms in the air. He drops them suddenly and says, slightly panicked, “What am I gonna wear?” 


	9. Zach Stone Is A Celebrity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zach is preparing for what could be the career decision of a lifetime -- and getting ready for his big Ellen appearance. He's also coming up with a plan to win Amy back once again.

_THE STONE HOUSEHOLD – Located in a suburb in Boston. Zach Stone is standing in front of his mirror, a button-down shirt in each hand. He's holding one up to himself, and then the other, squinting at his reflection._

Zach still has a week before he's supposed to film his appearance on  _Ellen_. But that hasn't stopped him from going into planning overdrive since he first received the phone call. He's torn apart his wardrobe already, trying on and discarding at least a dozen outfit pairings. He wishes he could ask Amy for advice in person, because she was always good at helping him figure out what made him look good, but they're still not back to hanging-out comfort level, or something. He's talked to her on the phone a few times, though, and even sent her a few pictures of potential outfits. It's not quite the same, but it's better than nothing. At least they're talking regularly again.

“Zach?” His mother pokes her head into his room. “Are you still in here fussing with your clothes?”

“I'm not  _fussing_ , mom,” he huffs. “I'm preparing for a very important moment in my career.”

She smiles, nodding patiently. “All right, all right. I'll leave you to it.” As she walks out, she adds, “I like the dark green one.”

“Shit! I was leaning towards the royal blue!” He drops both the shirts on the floor.

The reason he's so hyper-obsessive about the outfit is because Zach is determined to make the most perfect impression possible on the general public. This is a chance for him to be himself, not edited and manipulated by the cuts that make up  _Love & Lies_. He wants to be the best version of himself possible, of course, but he also wants to show America the  _real_ Zach Stone, the one who wasn't just tossing Amy aside for the next girl who came along like some kind of heartless womanizer. That's not who he wants to be.

He texts Amy a picture of the two shirts. “i _'m down to these two. which one's better?_ ”

_AMY: I'd go with the blue. It brings out your eyes._

_ZACH: knew it! that was my instinct too!! you're the best._

_AMY: Hey, so I've been thinking. After your big Ellen interview, we should go get ice cream or_ _something. To celebrate._

Zach stares at the text, a smile forming on his lips. He responds, “ _that would be so awesome!! are you sure?_ ”

_AMY: I'm definitely sure. I miss you._

_ZACH: i miss you too, like a crazy amount._

Zach smiles at his phone, and then hangs the blue shirt and his best pair of jeans on hangers and puts them on the back of his desk chair. Amy's texts have given him a mood boost, and he suddenly feels a lot less terrified about what's to come. This is going to be his moment, and Amy wants to celebrate it with him. She's happy for him, and that means the world to him. He's going to make the most of this—and that's when Zach Stone gets what he thinks might be his best idea yet.

* * *

 

Zach and Greg are sitting in Zach's living room when Zach, finally unable to contain himself any longer, says, “I have to tell you a secret.”

Greg raises his eyebrow. “Okay...”

“I have a plan. To win Amy back. It's genius.” Zach looks like he's going to explode if he doesn't explain himself.

“Do tell.”

“Okay, so you know how I'm gonna be on  _Ellen_ in five days, right?” Zach says, reveling in the sentence and the fact that he can actually say such things.

“You kind of haven't stopped mentioning it,” Greg points out. “Go on.”

“Okay, this is so good. So on the show, right, when I'm getting interviewed, I'm going to make this big speech about how Amy is so important to me, and how I'm in love with her, and then it will air on national television, and she'll see it and then we'll live happily ever after!” Zach looks immensely proud of himself.

Greg hesitates. “Can I be totally honest?”

Zach's still grinning. “Yeah, man, of course.”

“I think that's a really bad idea.”

Zach's smile falters. “Wait, what?”

“I mean, that sounds exactly like what you did last time,” Greg says.

“Yeah, and that worked!” Zach exclaims.

“It worked because it was honest,” Greg says. “It wasn't planned, you just did it from the heart. I don't think Amy wants a big, public declaration of love. It seems kind of selfish to do it that way,” he admits. “I mean, the whole reason she broke up with you was because she felt like you were using the relationship to further your own fame, right?”

“Yeah,” Zach says grudgingly.

“So don't you think that this would come across the same way?”

Zach feels petulant, but he can't really argue with Greg's logic. “So what should I do instead? I don't have any other ideas.”

Greg shrugs. “It'll come to you. You're always coming up with something.” When he sees Zach still looks discouraged, he says hesitantly, “and I mean, if you really think your idea will work, don't let me stop you...”

Zach glances at him. “Yeah. I'll think about it. I'll think of something.”

* * *

 

Zach is practicing his interview faces in the mirror when he gets a phone call. It's four days before the filming, and he thinks he's perfected the “casual chuckle” expression. He picks up his phone without looking at the caller ID. “This is Zach.”

“Hey, buddy,” says the familiar voice that Zach's grown to dread. It's David Lorraine.

“Oh, hi, David,” Zach says reluctantly.

“How's it going, Zach? Ready for your big interview?”

“Yeah, I think so!” Zach says. “I've got an outfit picked out and everything.”

“Great,” David says cheerfully. “So, Zach, have you thought about what angle you're going to go for during the interview? That could really help influence the direction of the show as well.”

“I guess I was just going to be myself,” he says.

David clucks disapprovingly. “I'm afraid that just won't cut it, buddy. You have an image to maintain, you know.”

“Yeah, but...” Zach doesn't know how to explain it to David. He doesn't  _want_ to maintain his current image. He wants to create an image that he actually consents to.

“I don't like 'buts', Zach. I need you to work with me on this,” David says. “You can do that for me, can't you?”

Zach sighs. “Sure.”

“Knew I could count on you, buddy.” David's tone is back to being chipper and casual, ignoring the reluctance in Zach's voice entirely. “And you know we still need to talk when episode four airs day after tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“All right. Talk to you then, buddy. Bye bye.” The line goes dead.

“Bye bye,” Zach mimics. “Talking to me like I'm fucking twelve, Jesus.” He shakes his head and looks at his reflection. “All right, Zach. Time to prepare your act, I guess.”

* * *

 

It's the night of  _Love & Lies _episode four. Zach's antsy as he watches it. He wouldn't be surprised if David Lorraine calls him as soon as the credits start rolling. He still hasn't made a decision about going to California, or anything really. He's talked to his parents about it vaguely, never really explaining the urgency of the decision. As far as they understand it, it's just a potential option for him. He hasn't really explained it much to Greg, either. And he hasn't told Amy at all. The only person who has any semblance of understanding of the reality of it all is Andy, surprisingly. He's done a good job of keeping quiet and not spilling his older brother's secrets, and Zach appreciates that. Andy can push his buttons and one-up him time and time again, but when it boils down to it, he knows when to shut up and keep a secret.

Now, though, it's getting down to the wire. He turns to Greg during a commercial break and says, “Hey, do you remember when I said that MTV had mentioned wanting to move me to California?”

“Yeah,” Greg says.

“I may not have been clear on that, but, um,” Zach bites his lip. “They're putting a lot more pressure on me than I said.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, I have to go if I want the show to continue, basically.”

Greg stares at him. “Are you serious? When are you supposed to make that decision?”

“Um...tonight after the episode?” Zach admits.

“Zach!” Greg shouts. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?” He looks hurt. “You're my best friend, and you were just gonna leave without even telling me?”

“I was gonna tell you before I left!” Zach protests. “I just didn't want to think about it, so I didn't say anything.” He stares down at his lap. “I don't want to go, man.”

“What are you gonna do?” Greg asks. The show comes back on, and it's Zach and Christy's breakup. Audio of Christy saying, “You're not interesting, Zach” plays and then a close-up of Zach's face, a mixture of embarrassment and hurt.

Zach clears his throat and looks away from the screen. “I don't know,” he says.

The episode is over, and almost like clockwork, Zach's phone starts ringing. He and Greg both stare at it. David Lorraine's contact photo is on the screen.

“You gonna get that?” Greg asks after several rings.

Zach continues to stare at his phone, and finally it stops ringing. “I'll call him back later,” Zach says, feigning normalcy. Greg gives him a look. “I will!” Zach insists.

He doesn't call David back that night.

* * *

 

Filming at  _Ellen_  involves a lot of preparation. The crew sets up a nice backstage area for the guests, sometimes involving a prank for Ellen to pull and broadcast. Before the studio audience gets to settle in, there's a lot of cleaning, prepping, prop-handling, prompt-checking, and place-confirming. A lot of planning has to go into making the show as funny and laid-back as it appears when it airs.

 

Zach checks his reflection in the mirror, anxiously tugging on his hair. He's been fussing with his hair for the past five minutes, and it probably looks just fine to an outside viewer, but he's nervous and being finnicky. He steps back a little, giving himself a view of his own appearance from the mid-chest up. He's wearing the royal blue button-down, the one Amy told him brings out his eyes. His mom had helped him (and by “helped,” he means that she did it for him) to iron and press his shirt so it's wrinkle-free. He looks put-together, confident, even. He wishes he felt it quite as much.

 

Ellen is talking to people backstage, checking with her camera crew and clarifying that everything is going fine. Her stage manager comes over to talk to her, and she nods, a look of relief on her face. The stage manager walks away now. He's going to check up on the guest area. He wants to make sure it's clean and ready and comfortable. Besides, they're letting in the studio audience soon, and he needs to let everyone backstage know so they can settle down.

 

Zach is getting sweaty, his palms clammy as he wipes them on his jeans. Why is he so nervous? This is a big, big moment for him, probably the turning point for his future, but he's been sure of himself all the way leading up to this moment.  _The_ moment, the pivotal time that's going to change everything. He stands up straight, then realizes he can't see himself in the mirror if he does that, so he crouches slightly, looks his reflection dead in the eyes and says, “You can do this.”

 

The stage manager knocks on the door of the guest room. “Come in!” a voice says. He opens the door and sticks his head into the room.

“We're letting in the studio audience in five minutes, Mr. Tatum,” says the stage manager. Channing Tatum nods. “And thank you, again,” the stage manager adds, “for filling in so last-minute. We were supposed to have Zach Stone on the show, but he canceled last minute yesterday.”

“It's no problem,” Channing Tatum says. He furrows his brow. “Who the hell is Zach Stone?”

* * *

 

Zach walks across his bedroom to his desk, where his cell phone is waiting for him. After Greg had left the night episode four aired, Zach had stayed up almost all night just laying in bed and staring at his ceiling. He had no idea what he was doing, he realized. This had all gotten so out of his hands, he felt like he wasn't even in control of his own future anymore. He was going to be taken across the country to live out a life onscreen that he didn't even want. And, he still had no idea what to do to win Amy back. Was there even a point, if he was going to California? He rolled over, frustration and anger bubbling up inside of him. “Fuck this,” he whispered to himself. In a moment of startling clarity, at 4:45 in the morning, Zach Stone knew what he had to do.

So the next morning, the day before the  _Ellen_ filming is supposed to occur, Zach gets dressed in the outfit he'd picked out for the show and finally calls David Lorraine back.

“Zach!” David says. “Buddy! I was getting worried when you didn't return my call last night.”

Zach takes a deep breath. “Yeah. About that. I've made my decision about the future of the show.”

“Great!” David says, surprised. “Lay it on me.”

“I'm not going to California,” Zach says. “And I'm not going to be  _Love & Lies _Zach anymore. Show's over. I'm done.”

David is silent for a moment. When he does speak, it's in a low, dangerously calm voice. “What?”

“I think the show needs to stop. It's not right for me, it's not—it's not  _me_. That's my final decision.” He speaks with surprising firmness.

“Zach,” David says. “This is a big decision you're making right now. You realize that you're throwing away your dreams?”

“No I'm not,” Zach says. “I'm still gonna be famous. Just not like this.”

“I expected more from you, buddy,” David says.

“Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint you,” Zach replies. “Find a new buddy.” He wants to hang up the phone right then and there, in a display of badassery and finality, but he realizes there's one more thing he has to do. “Oh, and um, can you cancel my  _Ellen_ interview? I don't know what number to call or how to cancel interviews, like do you just call Ellen's cell phone or what? Okay. Pretend I just slammed the phone down and didn't say this part. Bye.” He hangs up. After a moment of standing there in silence, he starts laughing. He's shocked by his own gusto, and he's also wondering if he just made the most ridiculous move in his entire career. Still shell-shocked and on an adrenaline high, he sits down at his desk and texts Greg.

_ZACH: dude, i did it. holy shit._

_GREG: omg!!!!!! was it terrifying??_

_ZACH: nah, you kidding? i was so chill._

_GREG: i'm sure. so what now?_

_ZACH: i've got a plan, just wait._

Zach sets down his phone and turns to look at the tripod and video camera he's set up on his desk. He turns it on and checks himself in the viewfinder, making sure he's centered in frame. Then, he clears his throat and looks directly into the lens, speaking to the camera in the way he does best.

“Hi there, YouTube. My name's Zach Stone. You might recognize me from the recently canceled MTV series,  _Love & Lies with Zach Stone_. Why did it get canceled, you ask? Well, funny story...” 


	10. Zach Stone Just Needs To Be Amy's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zach takes a brand new direction with his shot at fame, and he and Amy talk about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is, the epilogue. It's shorter than the previous chapters since it's just a wrap-up, but I hope you like it. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone on Tumblr who's read this fic, liked/reblogged it, and especially thank you to those who gave me feedback and sent me such kind messages. I'm so glad I was able to share this fic with such a great fandom. I hope everyone on AO3 enjoyed it, too. <3

_A YOUTUBE VIDEO – Entitled “The Future of Zach Stone.” Posted by OfficialZachStone two days ago. Views: 2,753._

The video opens with Zach sitting in front of the camera, wearing a royal blue button-down shirt and a slightly nervous smile. He waves at the camera. “Hi there, YouTube. My name's Zach Stone You might recognize me from the recently canceled MTV series,  _Love & Lies with Zach Stone_. Why did it get canceled, you ask? Well, funny story.”

A peppy instrumental starts to play as he continues to speak. “Before you get all up in arms to storm MTV for canceling the show, I'm just going to tell you: it was my decision. See, back when I got my first claim to fame as a viral video star, I was still figuring out what I wanted to be famous for. I tried everything out there—musician, actor, celebrity chef—but the thing that ended up getting me noticed was me being myself. That's what I thought the reality show would be, too. But the thing about  _Love & Lies _is...” Zach glances at something offscreen; it's a picture on his desk of him and Amy. “...it was a  _lot_ of lies. And it was totally out of my control what version of me you were seeing. It didn't feel right anymore. Which brings us to this.” He gestures around him. “This is my brand-new YouTube channel. I hope that if you liked the show, you'll migrate here to get your Zach Stone fix.” He smirks. “I don't really know what you're going to see here in the future, but it's gonna be great, I can promise you that. All right, I guess that's all for now. I'll see you later, YouTube!” He salutes the camera and the video ends.

* * *

 

Two days after Zach uploads his debut YouTube video, he and Amy meet up at the ice cream parlor where they've gone so many times before. Zach waits outside the shop anxiously, fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt. It's only been a few weeks since they've seen each other, really, but it feels like a lifetime.

“Zach!” a beautifully familiar voice calls, and he turns to see Amy walking towards him, a shy smile on her face. He grins, meeting her halfway and hugging her tightly. They stand like that for what feels like both a long time and not long enough, and then they pull away and Amy tucks her hair behind her ear and looks up at him, visibly nervous and excited all at once. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he says, still grinning dorkily. “Um, should we go in?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she says, and they walk into the shop. They're mostly silent as they wait in line, but they keep glancing at each other and giggling. Zach's not even sure why they're laughing, but he can't help it. They sit down at a booth with their milkshakes.

“So,” Amy says expectantly. “Tell me everything! When you told me the  _Ellen_ interview fell through you were so vague, what happened?”

“Well,” Zach says, stirring his straw around. “I canceled the interview, actually.”

“You  _what_? Why?”

“Because it was interview for the star of  _Love & Lies with Zach Stone_, and I'm no longer the star of that show,” Zach says, watching her.

Amy stares at him, mouth agape. “What are you talking about?”

“I quit,” Zach says. “The show wasn't right for me, it was making me look like someone I'm not, and it just felt wrong, you know?”

Amy looks down at her drink and smiles a little. “Yeah. Wow. But Zach, being famous was your dream.”

“Oh, it still is,” he says. He takes out his phone and opens up his YouTube channel, leaning forward to show her. “See, I'm going to do things my way. I used my last paycheck from MTV to buy a nice camera and then I made an account. I like talking to a camera, but I like being the one in control, too. This way, I'm famous on my own terms. And it's all about me.” He laughs sheepishly. “You know, just the way I like it.”

She looks at the video's view count. “Zach, this is so great. Can I watch the video?”

“Yeah, of course.” He presses play, and they watch it together, although Zach spends more of his time watching Amy's face than the screen.

When it's over, she looks impressed. “Zach, that was so good!”

“I know!” he says excitedly. “I already have ideas for the next video. And I posted a link to the channel on my fanblog, and I already have over 1,000 subscribers now!” He looks proud of himself. “But other than that, the blog's inactive, by the way. I'm still keeping it up, you know, as an archive or whatever, and so people have a link to my channel. But it's done.”

“What about 'Zamy'?” Amy asks. “Is that done too?”

Zach pauses, deliberating. “I think so, yeah,” he says finally. “But Zach and Amy? I think they're not done yet, maybe. But that's up to you.”

She nods, and her smile widens. “I think you're right, Zach and Amy aren't finished.”

He bites his lip and reaches carefully for her hand, and she takes his gladly. He looks at her, earnest and sincere. “I don't want to be a celebrity couple this time. I want to be a real couple. After we broke up, all these fans were analyzing our relationship, and they didn't even know us. I hated it. It was so disingenuous, you know?” He shakes his head. “We're gonna do things the right way this time. I promise. You don't have to be a part of my YouTube thing at all, unless you want to. I know I was selfish, and a dick. And I'm probably still going to be a selfish dick sometimes. I think that's kind of who I am.” They both chuckle a little at that. “But I hope you believe that I will  _never_ exploit our relationship again.”

She nods thoughtfully. “I do believe you,” she says. “And I hope you know that I didn't really mean it when I said I didn't think you'd ever get famous. I've always believed in you, you know? And I want this for you, in whatever way it ends up coming to you. But I definitely like this better than the MTV route.”

“God, me too,” Zach says. “My manager was  _so creepy_ , Amy. He called me 'buddy' all the time but he was  _not_  my buddy.” She laughs at this. “I'm serious!” Zach says, but he's grinning too. After a moment of giggles, Zach takes a deep breath and then says, “So we're really back together? Like, officially?”

She makes a thinking face. “Hmm. Well I don't think we can  _really_ call it official yet.”

“What? Why?” he asks, looking panicked.

“Well, you haven't kissed me yet,” she says. Zach leans forward, and she does too, and their lips meet over the table.

Zach's had three “first kisses” with Amy now, and he can say with absolute certainty that this one is the best of them all.  


End file.
